2p»1 

I 


WABtNO 

THE  MAGICIAN 


lyifi 


•  MABEL-  OSGOOD  -WRIGHT 


' 


WABENO   THE  MAGICIAN 


WABENO  THE  MAGICIAN 


WABENO    THE   MAGICIAN 

THE  SEQUEL   TO 

"TOMMY-ANNE  AND    THE    THREE  HEARTS" 


BY 

MABEL   OSGOOD  WEIGHT 

AUTHOR  OF  "BIRDCRAFT,"  "THE  FRIENDSHIP  OF  NATURE" 

ETC.,   ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 
BY  JOSEPH  M.  GLEESON 


f  orfe 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

1899 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1899, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Norfaooti 

3.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


Cfjfs  Book  is  ©EDtcatetJ 
TO  MY   SISTER  BERTHA 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  THE  DREAM  Fox 1 

II.  WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VERY  COLD  DAY       .      18 

III.  DR.  ANNE 45 

IV.  THE  SIGNAL .75 

V.  THE  MAN  OF  THE  MOON        ....    101 

VI.  WHAT  THE  COAL   SAID  TO  THE  KINDLING 

WOOD 123 

VII.  KAYOSHK',  THE  SEA  GULL      ....  146 

VIII.  THE  PLANTING  MOON 170 

IX.  THE  STORY  OF  BEK-WUK,  THE  ARROW        .  198 

X.  THE  WIDOW  DOG 225 

XI.  AMOE,  THE  HONEY  BEE 253 

XII.  THE  VILLAGE  IN  THE  POND  .        .        .        .280 

XIII.  THE  SHEDDING  DANCE 305 

XIV.  WABENO'S  GIFT                                                ,  830 


FULL  PAGE 
Wabeno,  the  Magician Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

The  Crow's  Complaint 95 

Wabeno's  Kalendar 113 

At  the  Fishing  Grounds         ......  160 

The  Arrow  Maker 206 

The  Song  of  the  Sands 307 

In  the  Boat     .        .        .        .        .      '  .        .        .        .322 

Wabeno  in  the  Maize  Field 342 

IN  TEXT 

PAGE 

Anne  and  Waddles 1 

"  He  began  to  pull  my  tail " 5 

"  He  threw  my  duck  leg  to  Tiger  "         .        .        .        .        7 

The  Dream  Fox 17 

The  Quails  in  the  Snow         .        .        .  .        .18 

"  That  monkey  climbed  up  to  your  mother's  window  "  23 
At  the  Horse  Farm  .  .  .  •  •  •  .27 
"Lumberlegs  .  .  .  rolled  Waddles  down  the  steps  "  .  44 
Eel  Spear  and  Fishing  Basket  .....  45 
"  Anne  sat  down  upon  an  old  log  "  .  .  .  .  46 

ix 


X  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Needles  and  Cones  of  the  Pine  and  Spruce    ...  52 

Cedar,  Hemlock,  and  Arbor  Yitae 54 

Tchin-dees  the  Jay  and  Keo-keo  the  Hawk   ...  58 

Lumberlegs  and  the  Muskrat 72 

Skunk  Cabbages     ........  75 

Pussy  AVillows  and  Marsh  Frogs 84 

Clouds 101 

"  I  help  the  tides  rise  and  fall " 114 

The  Old  Moon  in  the  Xe\v  Moon's  Arras       .         .         .  122 

The  game  of  "  Snatch  Bone  " 123 

The  Voiceless  Ones 132 

The  Ancient  Jungle 138 

The  Lighthouse 146 

"  Wawa's  shadowy  troop  is  passing  over  "     .        .        .  149 

The  Gull's  Xesting  Haunts 158 

"  I  have  watched  the  Sea  Ducks  rise  "    .        .        .        .  160 

"  The  water  has  cut  a  path  through  the  rocks  "     .        .  168 

Indian  Pipes  and  Tobacco  Plant  .        .        .        .        .  170 

Baldy  Ploughing 171 

Spring     . .184 

Opin  the  Potato 192 

Egg  Plant,  Pepper,  and  Tomatoes         .        .        .        .  193 

Indian  Arrow-heads        .......  198 

Wenona's  Cliff 204 

"  One  day  a  girl  came  to  the  lodge  "  209 

The  Stone  Giants  (from  an  Indian  Drawing)       .         .  211 

"  Now  my  advice'll  be  to  —  jes'  —  shoot "...  230 

Tommy,  Lily,  and  the  Pups  ......  239 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

PAGE 

Fox  telling  Anne  his  Story 245 

"I  fell  on  the  cruel  pavement " 252 

Pollen  Grains  magnified 253 

Horsetails 261 

Ground  Pine  and  Young  Ferns 263 

Poison  Ivy,  Poison  Sumach,  and  Harmless  Virginia 

Creeper 266 

Amoe  leaving  the  Flower 268 

The  Pink  Moccasin  Flower 269 

My  Home  Tree  is  a  Hollow  Sassafras    ....  274 

Whip  and  the  Robin's  Nest 276 

The  Pond 280 

Dragon  Flies  and  Water-Boatmen         ....  286 

"  The  other  fish  were  gossipping  under  the  root "          .  292 

Periwinkle,  Clam,  Whelk,  and  Mussel  Shells        .        .  305 

Waddles  and  the  Crab 312 

Some  Sea  People 317 

"  Where  the  Sandpipers  had  written  their  names  "       .  321 

Star  Fish,  Jelly  Fish,  and  Skate 326 

Maize,  Barley,  and  Rice 330 

Wheat,  Rye,  and  Oats 337 

Penaisee  gathering  Flowers    ......  339 

Tommy's  Squash  Geese 344 


Dr<?am  pox 


was  the  first  week  of  March. 
Time  for  the  grass  to  be  greening 
along  the  edges  of  springy  meadows, 
for  the  Pussy-willows  to  stretch  out 
their  silver-furred  paws,  time  for 
the  cheerful  little  Marsh  Frogs  to  tune  up  toward 
sunseto  But  instead  of  these  spring  signs  and 
sounds,  snow  was  falling  around  Happy  Hall,  as 
it  had  done  for  two  whole  days,  until  the  paths 
were  quite  buried.  Great  drifts  swept  over  the 
violet  frames,  and  clung  to  the  woodshed  roof. 
The  pines  and  spruces  at  the  north  of  the  house 

B  1 


2  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

shivered  and  bent  their  heads  to  the  fierce  wind ; 
and  a  flock  of  newly  arrived  Robins  huddled  in  the 
hemlock  hedge,  wondering  what  had  become  of 
their  friend  the  Sun,  who  had  given  the  signal  for 
their  journey,  half  suspecting  him  of  having 
played  them  a  shabby  trick. 

Tommy-Anne  was  sitting  on  a  foxskin  rug 
before  the  fire  in  her  bedroom,  with  no  other 
light  besides  what  the  logs  yielded.  She  was 
allowed  a  "go-to-bed"  fire  every  chilly  night, 
and  the  fireplace  was  a  frame  in  which  she  saw 
wonderful  pictures. 

A  great  many  things  had  happened  since  the 
Christmas  Eve  four  years  before,  when  Waw-be- 
ko-ko,  the  Snow  Owl,  came  to  the  Christmas 
party,  and  Tommy-Anne  halved  her  name  with  the 
little  brother.  People  often  called  her  Tommy- 
Anne  still,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Tommy  was  a 
sturdy  little  chap,  strutting  about  proudly  in  his 
first  knickerbockers,  and  puckering  his  lips  to 
make  his  very  first  whistle. 

In  fact,  this  double  name  caused  great  confu- 
sion in  the  house  until  the  day  when  Tommy- 
Anne  took  matters  into  her  own  hands,  saying, 
"  I  can  climb  better  than  ever,  because  my  arms 
are  longer ;  I  ask  as  many  questions,  and  I'm 
only  just  beginning  to  understand  a  few  of  the 


THE   DREAM  FOX  3 

whys.  I  like  outdoors  much  better  than  in- 
doors, and  dogs  better  than  cats  and  dolls;  but, 
as  I'm  a  girl,  I  want  to  be  called  by  a  girl's  name, 
so  please,  father-mother,  call  me  Anne.  Then, 
perhaps,  by  and  by  when  I  grow  up  and  have  to 
wear  long  skirts  and  turn  up  iny  hair  and  tread 
on  every  step  of  the  stairs  and  alivays  go  through 
gates,  I  may  like  to  be  called  my  whole  name, 
Diana,  after  the  hunting  lady  with  the  young 
moon  on  her  head." 

Meanwhile  Waddles  had  been  growing  into 
quite  a  sober,  middle-aged  dog,  with  many  affairs 
of  his  own  and  even  troubles  to  attend  to  — 
troubles  that  he  considered  far  worse  than  Aunt 
Prue's  broom  or  his  old  enemy,  the  Miller's  cat, 
for  Aunt  Prue  did  not  live  at  the  house  now  that 
Anne's  mother  was  quite  well  and  strong  again, 
and  the  Miller's  cat  had  one  lame  front  paw,  and 
seldom  dared  dogs  to  fight  with  her. 

Waddles'  first  grievance  was  that  he  could  not 
take  his  usual  naps  in  the  study  scrap-basket,  as 
Tommy  kept  his  blocks  in  the  comfortable  old 
one,  while  the  new  one  was  high  and  tipped  over 
easily,  in  addition  to  being  made  of  rough,  prickly 
straw.  This  was  a  slight  grievance,  however, 
beside  other  things ;  and  as  Waddles  walked 
slowly  up  stairs,  and  along  the  hall  to  Anne's 


4  W  ABEND,   THE  MAGICIAN 

door,  that  snowy  March  evening,  his  heart  was 
very  heavy  indeed.  "As  like  as  not  she  has 
gone  to  bed,"  he  whimpered  to  himself,  "and  I 
shall  have  to  wait  another  day  to  tell  her." 

As  she  heard  the  patter  of  his  feet  outside,  Anne 
started,  put  a  fresh  log  on  the  fire,  saying,  "  How 
can  I  ever  tell  him  ?  "  Waddles  nosed  the  door 
open,  but  only  enough  to  squeeze  his  plump  body 
through,  and  then  pulled  it  as  nearly  shut  as  he 
could  with  his  paw,  for  what  he  had  to  say  to  his 
mistress  was  for  her  ear  alone.  To  be  sure  Tommy 
was  supposed  to  be  in  bed,  but  then  he  was  always 
turning  up  unexpectedly.  Waddles  snuggled  up 
to  his  mistress,  who  began  smoothing  out  his 
velvety  ears  after  her  old  habit.  He  was  tempted 
to  curl  up  and  go  to  sleep  ;  but  no,  he  must  not. 
So  he  sighed,  turned  his  head  on  one  side,  and 
gazed  first  at  the  fire  and  then  at  Anne,  with  a 
most  pathetic  expression  in  his  soft  brown  eyes. 

Anne  clasped  her  hands  around  her  knees  and 
returned  the  look,  thinking  in  perplexity,  "How 
can  I  break  the  news  to  him  ?  " 

"  Mistress,"  said  Waddles  after  a  while,  as  Anne 
was  beginning  to  be  interested  in  an  angry  dis- 
pute in  the  chimney  between  the  wind  that  wished 
to  come  down  and  the  smoke  that  was  struggling 
to  go  up,  "  I'm  very  unhappy  and  it  is  partly 


THE   DREAM  FOX  5 

your  fault,  too,  though  I'm  sure  you  never  meant 
it.  Do  you  remember  the  night  when  Tommy 
came  and  you  were  so  pleased  that  you  turned 
reckless  and  began  giving  him  things  ?  First  you 
gave  him  half  your  name,  then  you  gave  him  half 
of  me  —  the  back  leg  half,  so  that  I  could  'wag 
my  tail  to  amuse  him,'  you  said. 

"At  first  it  worked  very  well;  he  didn't  say 
much  of  anything,  and  I  could  go  up  and  sleep  in 
your  mother's  nice  warm  room  where  his  crib  was, 
whenever  I  pleased.  When  the  warm  weather 
came  I  followed  his  coach  to  all  the  cool  shady 
places.  Then,  after  a  while,  he  took  an  interest 
in  my  tail  and  used  to  shout  and  give  me  crusts 
of  bread  to  make  me  wag  it.  Of  course  I  only 
took  the  crusts  out  of  politeness,  for  you  know  I 
never  eat  them. 

"Pretty  soon  after  this,  when  he  could  run 
about,  he  began  to  pull  my  tail  and  sometimes 


6  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

trample  on  my  ears,  when  I  lay  stretched  out 
asleep.  Still  I  did  not  whimper  or  complain 
because  he  wore  girls'  clothes  and  had  such  puppy 
ways,  but  since  he  has  worn  those  pantikins  I  can 
bear  no  more.  He  wants  to  wag  my  tail.  The 
other  day  he  tied  a  string  to  it.  He  wishes  me  to 
run  races  with  him  directly  after  my  dinner,  and 
go  to  sleep  under  his  chair  at  breakfast  when  the 
Earth  has  so  much  news  to  tell  me,  and  perhaps 
there  are  tracks  of  a  Weasel  or  Scent  Cat  all 
around  the  barn.  Then  twice  he  has  shut  me  in 
the  woodhouse  just  as  you  whistled. 

"  My  patience  ended  yesterday.  You  know  the 
duck  leg  your  father  gave  me  after  dinner?  To 
be  sure  it  was  a  trifle  tough,  but  otherwise  good 
eating,  so  I  thought  that  I  would  bury  it  awhile 
to  ripen.  I  had  barely  laid  it  down,  to  look  for  a 
place  where  I  could  scratch  a  hole,  when  I  saw 
Tiger  slinking  down  the  orchard  wall  looking 
narrow  and  sly  as  ever.  I  growled  —  he  stopped. 
Then  Tommy  ran  up  and  called,  '  Turn  here,  thin 
cat,  here's  a  dood  bone  fatty  Waddles  tant  eat,' 
and  he  threw  my  duck  leg  to  Tiger. 

"For  a  minute  I  meant  to  run  away,  down  to 
the  Horse  Farm,  for  they  say  that  a  woman  lives 
there  who  is  very  good  to  dogs,  but  we've  been 
friends  so  long,  and  you  wear  the  Magic  Spectacles 


THE   DREAM  FOX  7 

and  know  my  language,  that  I  couldn't  go  without 
telling  you,  so  please,  mistress,  take  back  my  hind 
legs  and  let  me  all  belong  to  you  again,"  and  Wad- 
dles raised  his  head  and  bayed  dismally  to  hide  the 
fact  that  he  was  nearly  crying. 

"  You    dear    old   Waddlekins ! "     cried    Anne, 
standing  him  up  before  her  until  their  noses  met. 


"Of  course  I'll  take  you  back,  for  I've  often 
missed  you  dreadfully  when  I've  been  for  long 
walks  and  had  to  leave  you  behind  because  Tommy 
wanted  }rou.  Yet  when  Obi  offered  to  get  me  one 
of  the  pretty  spaniels  from  the  Horse  Farm,  I 
could  not  bear  to  let  another  dog  take  your  place. 
But  we  must  be  patient  with  little  brother,  because 
you  know  the  Three  Hearts  have  given  him  to  us 
to  take  care  of  until  he  can  see  through  the  Magic 


8  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

Spectacles  himself.  Father  says,  he  is  a  responsi- 
bility —  the  first  real  one  I've  ever  had.  Do  you 
know  what  that  means  ?  Well,  it  is  this  way. 

"  Before  Tommy  came,  if  I  was  careless  about 
anything  like  getting  my  feet  sopping  wet,  tearing 
my  frocks  and  forgetting  about  meal  times,  I  had 
wet  feet,  or  scratched  arms,  or  felt  hungry,  but 
that  was  all.  Now,  if  I  do  these  things  and 
Tommy  sees  me  and  does  them  too,  I'm  responsi- 
ble for  him,  do  you  see?  So  responsibility  is  a 
thing  that  makes  you  mind  what  you  do  and  isn't 
altogether  comfortable.  Waddles  love,  I  might  as 
well  tell  you  first  as  last,  —  you  are  going  to  have 
a  responsibility  too.  A  new  dog  is  coming  to  live 
here  to-morrow,  or  next  day,  or  whenever  the 
snow  stops.  You  will  have  to  help  train  him  and 
teach  him  to  be  neat  and  eat  his  food  off  his  plate 
and  sit  on  his  own  mat,  and  not  get  up  on  the  sofas, 
or  lie  down  or  dig  in  mother's  flower  beds,  besides 
all  the  other  things  you've  learned." 

"  A  new  dog  here  ! "  yelped  Waddles,  bristling 
and  springing  up  as  quickly  as  if  some  one  had 
cried,  "  cat "  or  "  rat."  "  Missy,  only  a  minute 
ago  you  said  that  you  didn't  take  one  of  those 
polite  little  spaniels  that  Obi  offered  you  because 
you  loved  me  so;  and  now  —  to  think  of  it — a 
strange  dog  coming  !  Ill  go  out  in  the  snow  and 


THE   DEEAM   FOX  9 

have  one  more  fight  with  Tiger  to  get  even  about 
the  duck  leg,  and  then  I  don't  care  —  what  — 
becomes  —  of  —  me!"  and  Waddles  crept  toward 
the  door  with  drooping  head  and  tail,  all  his 
fierceness  having  vanished. 

"  Come  back,  you  poor  dear,"  called  Anne,  "you 
haven't  heard  but  half ! "  Then,  as  he  did  not 
move  very  quickly,  she  half  lifted,  half  dragged, 
him  back  to  the  foxskin. 

"  Now  look  me  straight  in  the  face,  Waddles, 
for  you've  got  two  of  the  very  worst  of  the  Puk- 
Wudjies  living  in  your  head, — Sus-Picion  and 
Jea-Lousy.  Father  says,  '  Did-not-Think  '  and 
'Did-not-Mean-To'  don't  begin  to  make  as  much 
trouble  as  they  do. 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  new  dog  is  not  for  me,  it 
is  for  Tommy.  It  is  only  a  bit  of  a  four-months- 
old  puppy  dog  that  will  like  to  run  and  play. 
Father  wants  him  to  grow  up  with  Tommy,  so  that 
they  will  love  each  other  as  we  do.  Then  you  see, 
you  and  I  can  stay  together  all  the  time  as  we 
used  to.  This  dog's  mother  lives  at  the  Horse 
Farm,  and  is  one  of  Miss  Jule's  very  best  big 
St.  Bernards  —  the  big  strong  kind  that,  in  the 
cold  country  where  they  come  from,  can  dig 
out  people  that  are  buried  in  the  snow.  As  for 
being  strange,  why,  you  know  that  all  Miss  Jule's 


10  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

animals  are  as  friendly  as  they  can  be.  So  now, 
give  me  a  nice  little  kiss  on  the  ear,  and  as  a  great 
treat  you  shall  sleep  on  my  bed  in  a  nest  made  of 
the  afghan.  Come,  jump  up,  I  hear  mother  on  the 
stairs  and  she  won't  kiss  us  good-night,  you  know, 
unless  we  are  quite  in  bed." 

"The  Winds  of  Night,  the  Winds  of  Night; 
let  us  in  for  we  are  cold,"  wailed  the  voices  out- 
side the  window,  where  the  sleety  snow  coated  the 
panes. 

"  Is  that  you,  Kabibonokka  ?  "  whispered  Anne, 
as  she  drew  the  eider-down  quilt  up  to  her  chin. 
"  What  business  has  the  north  wind  here  when  it 
ought  to  be  spring  ?  Mother  has  bought  all  her 
flower  seeds  and  Obi  would  have  made  the  hot-bed 
for  them  yesterday  if  you  hadn't  brought  this  snow 
back  to  bury  everything.  How  do  things  get  so 
mixed?  What  made  you  come  back?  Last  week 
I  saw  a  bee  in  the  violet  frame.  I  wonder  if  he 
expected  to  find  the  Flower  Market  open,  and  what 
became  of  the  message  he  was  carrying  ?  Perhaps 
it  froze !  Do  you  think  a  message  could  freeze, 
Kabibonokka?  And  I  wonder  what  has  become 
of  Heart  of  Nature  now  that  all  his  garden  is  dead 
and  buried.  Perhaps  he  has  gone,  to  sleep  the 
winter  sleep,  like  the  Woodchuck." 


THE  DREAM  FOX  11 

"  Heart  of  Nature  never  sleeps,  and  work  in  his 
garden  never  ceases,"  answered  a  Voice  from  be- 
side the  hearthstone.  "  I  have  been  abroad  all  day 
working  to  protect  my  own  and  soon  I  go  out 
again.  The  Plan  directs  the  seasons  and  marks 
their  courses,  but  rebellious  forces  strive  and 
wrestle  for  the  mastery  and  make  delay  and 
havoc. 

"  A  vagrant  voice  called  Kabibonokka  from  the 
north.  Quickly  I  bade  the  snows  descend  and 
shield  the  earth  from  his  rude  breath.  To-morrow, 
if  he  leaves,  Shawondasee  will  come  and  help  me 
gather  up  the  snow  again.  Meanwhile  I  whisper 
to  the  Coon,  '  Keep  close  in  your  tree  hole.'  To 
Crow  and  Jay,  '  Stay  well  within  the  cedars  lest 
your  eyeballs  freeze.'  To  Quail  and  Grouse,  sur- 
rounded in  the  stubble,  'Dive  in  the  snow  blanket, 
lest  you  perish.'  To  the  Eel  beneath  the  ice, 
'  Begin  your  journey  down  the  river  to  your  spring 
sea  chambers  before  the  ice  gates  lift.'  As  to  the 
grass  and  plants  and  trees,  snow  dulls  their  ears, 
they  hear  nothing,  and  their  sap  lies  cold  and  still 
and  safe." 

"  I'm  so  glad  you've  come  back ! "  cried  Anne, 
sitting  up  in  bed  and  clasping  her  hands.  "  You 
don't  come  to  see  me  often,  now  that  Tommy  is 
about  so  much  and  I  have  to  stay  indoors  and  do 


12  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

my  lessons.  How  is  that,  dear  Heart  of  Nature, 
for  there  are  so  many  whys  that  need  answers  that 
I'm  sure  I've  forgotten  half  of  them  ?  " 

"  Anne,  do  you  remember  the  password  in  the 
land  of  the  Three  Hearts  ?  " 

"  Brotherhood !  "  said  Anne,  promptly. 

"  Yes,  brotherhood  —  an  equal  sharing.  You 
must  listen  to  each  of  the  Three  Hearts  if  you 
would  understand  the  Plan.  I  have  but  given 
Heart  of  Man  his  turn." 

"  Of  course,  lessons  and  books  and  people  mean 
Heart  of  Man,  but,  dear  Tree  Man,  please  tell  me 
why  do  things  ever  mix  up  and  Winter  and  Spring 
interfere,  and  some  animals  eat  others,  and  all 
that?  Why  does  the  Plan  allow  it,  and  where 
are  all  the  things  that  you  are  never  sure  whether 
you  have  seen  or  only  dreamed?" 

"•  The  Plan  fixes  its  laws  of  birth,  growth,  and 
death,  the  beginning  and  the  end ;  between  these 
heat  and  cold,  wind,  water,  tempest  and  calm,  all 
contend  for  mastery,  and  when  House  People  speak 
of  haphazard  and  mysterious  cross-purposes,  you 
know  they  mean  —  " 

"  Wabeno,  the  Magician ! "  cried  a  shrill  voice 
in  the  chimney.  "  Wabeno,  the  Magician ! " 
echoed  a  calmer  voice  at  the  keyhole.  Anne 
rubbed  her  eyes  and  looked  about  very  much 


THE   DREAM  FOX  13 

puzzled.  She  had  not  quite  caught  Heart  of 
Nature's  meaning,  perhaps  because  she  was  sleepy, 
but  those  voices,  surely  they  belonged  to  Kabibo- 
nokka  and  Mudjekeewis.  What  could  the  North 
and  West  Winds  be  doing  there  at  the  same  time  ? 

She  slipped  out  upon  the  foxskin  rug  to  listen, 
pulling  the  down  quilt  after  her. 

"Who  is  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  and  where 
does  he  live?"  she  whispered.  "Does  he  belong 
to  the  Brotherhood  of  Beasts,  or  what?  Creep 
into  the  chimney,  Winds  of  Night ;  for  though  I 
may  not  let  you  in  the  window,  you  can  come 
quite  near,  for  the  fire  is  low." 

"  Do  you  speak,  Kabibonokka,  while  I  get  my 
breath,"  said  Mudjekeewis,  panting.  "Ah!  the 
distance  I  have  come  to-day  from  heat  and  sand 
and  summer  to  this  snow,  simply  because  Wabeno 
gave  his  signal." 

Anne  was  going  to  speak  impatiently,  and  then 
stopped  herself,  for  Kabibonokka  said :  "  Before 
man  walked  the  earth,  nothing  asked  why  about 
anything.  What  came,  came;  what  went,  went 
all  unquestioned.  When  the  Red  Brothers  ar- 
rived (the  first  men  we  ever  met  in  these  lands), 
'why'  was  the  very  first  word  they  said.  For 
many  things  they  could  find  no  reasons,  because 
they  did  not  understand  the  Three  Hearts  and 


14  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

their  language ;  so  every  strange  thing  that  befell, 
they  laid  to  Wabeno,  the  Magician. 

"  He  was  born  in  Wabun  Annung,  the  Morning 
Star,  or  so  they  said,  and  of  the  race  of  Wenona, 
whom  the  Robins  and  Bluebirds  loved  so  well. 
A  warrior  was  he,  young  and  strong  and  beauti- 
ful, yet  no  one  had  clearly  seen  his  face,  for  a 
leafy  mask  half  hid  it.  He  had  no  wigwam,  any 
tree  trunk  was  his  home.  He  carried  no  bow  or 
spear,  and  Kaw-kaw,  the  far-seeing  Raven,  perched 
on  his  brow  for  a  head-dress,  its  eyes  shooting 
lightning  bolts.  Thunder  boomed  from  his  magic 
drum  if  he  struck  it  fiercely,  but  at  a  gentle  touch 
it  yielded  a  note  like  the  feathered  drumming  of 
the  Ruffed  Grouse,  and  he  sang  a  call  that  all 
must  answer. 

" '  Hear  my  drum,  hear  my  drum,  you  who 
dwell  across  the  earth !  Hear  my  drum !  I  am 
Wabeno !  This  is  my  work  ! ' 

"  Then  following,  sometimes  in  leash  and  some- 
times free,  came  his  faithful  Wagoose,  the  Dream 
Fox,  with  his  shadowy  pack  and  his  book  of  won- 
drous fading  pictures. 

"  When  the  Red  Brothers  heard  Wabeno  and 
his  train,  they  closed  their  eyes  tightly,  for  only  the 
mind's  eye  may  see  him  unblinded  ;  while  to  sleep- 
closed  eyes  alone  will  the  Dream  Fox  show  his 


THE   DREAM  FOX  15 

picture-book,  and  lead  the  sleepers  long  journeys 
through  strange  countries  all  in  a  minute. 

"  Two  days  ago  I ,  Kabibonokka,  was  travelling 
northward  with  Wabasso,  the  White  Rabbit,  and 
between  us  we  led  Winter,  who  walked  with  lin- 
gering tread.  Suddenly  I  heard  a  signal  to  re- 
turn, and  I  came,  calling  among  the  trees  to  the 
Winds  of  Night  to  learn  who  had  work  for  us ; 
but  there  was  no  work,  and  so  we  wrought  mis- 
chief, and  troubled  Heart  of  Nature,  who  dropped 
the  snow  to  keep  me  from  his  garden.  Who,  then, 
could  have  called  us  but  Wabeno  ?  " 

"  And  I,"  cried  Mudjekeewis,  "  I  was  lingering 
in  the  southwest  country,  where  the  cactus  walls 
the  sand-heaps,  and  the  century  plant  already 
shows  the  buds  of  its  April  flowers.  I  heard  a 
signal  and  I  came,  only  to  find  it  Winter.  Who 
called  me  but  Wabeno  ?  " 

"  Winds  of  Night,  idle  Winds  of  Night,  I  have 
work  for  you,  though  you  came  at  another's  bid- 
ding," called  Heart  of  Nature.  "  Go  up  and  tear 
the  veils  from  the  stars  and  polish  them  bright, 
and  help  the  young  moon  to  find  her  pathway 
down  the  western  sky;  pluck  the  dead  branches 
from  the  tree  tops,  scatter  the  last  clinging  seeds ; 
then  cease,  for  I  have  much  to  plan  and  set  in 
order  before  morning." 


16  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"Mistress,"  called  Waddles,  waking  up  with  a 
whimper  and  finding  the  bed  empty,  "  mistress,  do 
come  to  sleep.  I'm  fairly  shivering,  and  the 
wind  is  coming  in  at  every  crack  until  my  hair 
stands  on  end.  Don't  you  see  the  fire  is  nearly 
out?  You  will  have  a  snuffle  cold,  and  then  we 
shall  have  to  stay  in  the  house  for  days  and 
days!" 

"  What  did  you  say,  Waddlekiris  ?  Ah,  yes,  the 
fire  is  low  and  there  is  no  more  wood  in  the  bas- 
ket," said  Anne,  stumbling  back  to  bed.  "  Why, 
the  stars  and  moon  are  out,  it  must  have  stopped 
snowing !  How  the  winds  whistle  and  scold  ; 
if  I  could  only  understand  all  the  things  they 
say.  Ah  !  how  I  wish  the  Dream  Fox  would 
show  me  his  picture-book. 

"  Why,  there  he  comes  !  The  rug  fox  must  have 
been  a  Dream  Fox  when  he  was  alive !  The  pic- 
ture-book—  too!  The  poor  old  blind  Crow  up  in 
the  woods  —  and  the  Bob-whites  —  all — asleep  — 
under  —  the — snow.  I'll  get  Obi  to  take  them 

—  some  —  food  —  to-morrow,  and  we  —  will  help 

—  Heart  of  Nature  —  dig  —  out — his  —  g-a-r-d-e-n, 
and  —  begin  —  his  —  " 

Footsteps  crossed  the  hall  below  and  came  rap- 
idly up  the  stairs. 

"  It  is  nothing,  dear,"  said  Anne's  father  to  her 


THE  DREAM  FOX 


17 


mother,  looking  in  at  the  door.  "  I  thought  the 
child  was  at  her  old  trick  of  playing  Owl  and  look- 
ing out  the  window  in  the  dark  but  she  was  only 
talking  in  her  sleep." 


II 


U/l?at  l?apper;ed 


Day 


SADDLES  usually  waked 
up  very  early  in  the  morning. 
After  taking  a  complete  bath,  in 
which  his  tongue  did  duty  for  a  sponge,  and  queer 
little  sucking,  sputtering  noises  took  the  place 
of  splashing  water,  he  would  trot  deliberately 
down  stairs  and  out  the  back  door  to  hear  what 
news  of  the  night  the  Earth  had  to  tell  him.  If 
there  was  a  great  deal  to  learn,  and  the  grass  or 
light  snow  spoke  of  Rabbit,  House  Cat,  or  Scent 
Cat,  everything  else  was  forgotten ;  otherwise  he 
soon  returned  to  the  kitchen,  where,  by  looking 
steadily  at  the  cook  with  his  most  wistful  expres- 

18 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE   VERY  COLD  DAY        19 

sion,  he  usually  succeeded  in  securing  at  least  a 
sample  of  the  family  breakfast. 

This  particular  morning  it  was  barely  light  when 
Waddles  finished  his  toilet  on  the  hearth  rug.  He 
looked  at  the  frost-covered  window-panes,  shivered, 
gave  a  sneeze,  and  tip-toed  across  the  painted  floor 
toward  the  bed  again.  He  hesitated,  looked  at  the 
afghan  nest  at  the  foot,  then  pushing  his  way 
under  the  bedclothes  cuddled  down  in  a  particu- 
larly warm  spot  with  his  nose  on  his  mistress' 
shoulder,  where,  half  an  hour  later,  when  Anne 
was  wakened  by  the  building  of  her  fire,  she  found 
him. 

"  Why,  Waddles  ! "  she  cried,  "  what  is  the 
matter?  You  know  very  well  that  you  mustn't 
get  into  bed.  Are  you  sick,  or  did  the  Dream 
Fox  show  you  a  big  picture  of  the  Miller's  cat  to 
frighten  you?  He  showed  me  a  lot  of  strange  things 
about  cold  and  ice  and  hungry  birds,  and  by  and  by 
I'm  going  to  ask  Obi  to  go  out  to  see  if  he  can  find 
any,  and  we  will  take  them  some  food.  It  is  Sat- 
urday, you  know,  so  there  won't  be  any  lessons. 

"  I  think  it  must  be  very  cold,"  she  continued, 
jumping  up  to  look  at  a  pretty  little  thermometer 
on  her  bureau,  and  flying  back  to  bed  again. 

"  Ugh !  only  30°.  I  think  we  won't  get  up 
quite  yet,  Waddlekins." 


20  W  ABE  NO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I  didn't  have  to  look  at  that  weather  stick  to 
know  that  it  is  cold.  I  could  smell  it,"  said 
Waddles,  nestling  down  unreproved.  "  I  hope  it's 
too  cold  for  the  new  dog  to  come  to-day." 

"  We  tan't  have  breakfas'  for  ever  so  long,  and 
no  baths  at  all  this  morning,"  shouted  Tommy, 
tearing  along  the  hall  into  Anne's  room,  where, 
jumping  into  the  middle  of  the  bed,  nearly  smoth- 
ering Waddles,  he  looked  like  a  little  goblin,  in 
his  red  blanket  wrapper  with  his  pointed  hood  and 
his  pointed  red  felt  slippers. 

"  Do  you  know  why  we  tan't  have  our  baths, 
sister  ?  "  he  said,  pulling  her  eyes  wide  open  with 
his  icy  little  fingers. 

"  Well,"  speaking  with  suppressed  excitement, 
"the  water  pipes  are  all  fwozen  down  in  the 
kitchen,  and  father  says  they  may  burst  and  make 
leaks.  Then  you  know  the  plumber  will  have  to 
come  and  maybe  he  will  give  me  some  lead  and 
let  me  melt  it  in  his  firepot  to  make  bullets  for 
my  bean  shooter.  Father  doesn't  seem  to  like 
plumbers,  but  I  fink  they're  lots  of  fun. 

"Then  we  tan't  have  breakfas'  yet,  'cause  the 
milk's  frozen  too.  I  wonder  if  it  froze  before  it 
was  milked  or  after.  Which  do  you  think  it  was  ? 
Oh,  Anne,  you  are  doing  to  sleep  again ;  please 
tell  me  which  way  the  milk  froze,  because  if  it 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VERY  COLD  DAY       21 

froze  before  it  was  milked,  I  should  think  it  must 
make  the  poor  Bossies  drefful  cold." 

Anne  had  to  laugh  in  spite  of  feeling  a  little 
cross  with  Tommy  for  teasing. 

"  Why,  the  milk  froze  after  it  was  milked,  of 
course.  The  cows  are  too  warm  to  let  it  freeze 
before,  and  if  it  did  how  could  Obi  and  Baldy 
have  milked  it?" 

"I  didn't  know,"  said  Tommy,  unabashed  by 
facts,  "  'cause  some  things  freeze  softer  than 
others.  I'm  going  to  see  how  fwozen  milk  looks 
and  then  I'm  going  to  make  my  bed  into  a  bear's 
den  with  the  blankets.  Come  and  be  the  little 
rabbit,  Waddles,  and  I'll  be  the  big  bear  and  jump 
out  and  eat  you  ;  "  but  Waddles  declined  emphati- 
cally, by  leaving  his  comfortable  place  and  re- 
treating under  the  bed. 

"  Bad  Waddles,  you  won't  do  anyfing  I  want," 
pouted  Tommy,  going  away.  "You're  only  a 
stuffed  flannel  dog,  anyway,  and  I  shan't  invite 
you  to  play  with  me  any  more  !  " 

"  Now  you  see  how  it  is,  missy,"  said  Waddles 
from  under  the  bed.  "  I'm  very  glad  you've  taken 
me  back,  and  I  really  think  I'm  even  willing  for 
the  new  dog  to  come." 

"No,  sir,  you  needn't  come  in  again,"  said 
Anne,  preparing  to  get  up.  "  When  it's  cold  it's 


22  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

extra  hard  to  get  up  for  good  if  you  keep  com- 
ing back  again.  We  mustn't  be  monkeys  in  the 
kettle,  Waddlekins." 

"  We  are  not  monkeys,  missy,"  said  Waddles, 
scornfully.  "  Monkeys  are  those  queer  animals 
that  do  not  look  like  any  of  the  Beast  Brothers. 
They  wear  clothes  like  House  People  and  have 
long  tails  like  rats.  The  man  that  came  up  here 
last  summer  with  that  box  of  noises,  that  he  turned 
on  with  a  handle,  had  a  monkey  to  steal  things  for 
him.  That  monkey  climbed  up  to  your  mother's 
window  and  took  her  nice  shiny  thimble  off  the 
table,  while  she  was  getting  cookies  for  him.  I 
barked  to  call  you,  but  the  monkey  jumped 
down  on  my  back  and  bit  my  ear ;  then  I  nipped 
the  man's  pants,  and  he  went  away  very  quick." 

"  To  be  sure,  mother's  thimble  was  lost  the  very 
day  the  hand-organ  man  was  here,"  said  Anne, 
pausing;  "but  the  kettle  monkey  was  different 
and  mother  used  to  tell  me,  when  I  was  a  little 
girl  and  slept  by  her  in  a  crib,  that  I  acted  just 
like  him. 

"You  see  this  monkey  had  lived  in  a  very 
warm  land,  where  he  could  play  out  all  the  year 
without  wearing  clothes,  just  as  you  do.  One  day 
a  man  caught  him  and  took  him  away  from  his 
friends  and  brought  him  where  it  was  very  cold. 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE   VERY  COLD  DAY       23 


As  there  was  not  time  that 
night  to  make  Mr.  Monkey 
a  coat,  his  master  put  a 
blanket  over  him  in  a  box 
in  the  kitchen. 

"  In  the  morning  the 
cook  came  down  stairs, 
made  the  fire,  put  the  ket- 
tle on  and  went  away. 
Very  soon  the  monkey  got 
out  of  the  basket  and 
began  to  look  about  for 
something  to  eat,  but  he 
couldn't  find  anything,  and 
soon  began  to  shiver  dread- 
fully. Then  he  went  over 
toward  the  fire  and  climbed 
up  on  top  of  the  big  tea- 
kettle, which  was  only  a 
little  bit  warm. 

"  He  took  the  lid  off  and 
looked  in,  for  monkeys  are 
very  impolite  animals,  that 
always  touch  everything 
they  see ;  next  he  put  one 
paw  in  the  water,  finding  it 
very  warm  and  comfortable. 


GLEE5DNT1 


24  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  'I  will  get  into  the  kettle  and  then  I  shall  soon 
be  warm  all  over,'  he  said  to  himself.  He  was. 
In  a  minute  he  felt  too  hot,  especially  in  his  feet 
that  were  down  on  the  bottom  of  the  kettle.  He 
jumped  out,  but  the  room  felt  so  cold  that  he 
jumped  in  again ;  but  he  couldn't  stay  long,  so  he 
kept  hopping  in  and  out  until,  if  the  cook  had  not 
come  and  put  him  back  in  his  blanket,  he  would 
have  been  boiled  to  death.  So  when  I  hopped  in 
and  out  of  bed  on  cold  mornings,  mother  used  to 
say,  'Foolish  little  monkey,  come  out  of  the 
kettle.'  " 

The  fire  was  burning  nicely  by  this  time,  so  that 
Anne  could  dress  comfortably,  and  the  little  silver 
line  in  the  thermometer  was  going  slowly  upward, 
but  the  water  in  the  pitcher  that  stood  near  the 
window  was  still  frozen  hard. 

"I  wonder  what  the  use  of  cold  is,  anyway," 
she  said,  as  she  warmed  a  towel  and  rubbed  some 
of  the  frost  off  the  window  so  that  she  could  look 
out.  "  It  only  spoils  everything,  and  kills  Heart 
of  Nature's  big  garden  as  well  as  our  little  one.  I 
don't  see  why  the  Hearts  allowed  the  cold  in  the 
Plan;  this  is  the  very  coldest  day  there  has  ever 
been,  I'm  sure." 

"  Cold  and  I  work  together  to-day,"  said  a  voice 
from  the  melting  frost  on  the  panes,  which  Anne 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE   VERY   COLD   DAY       25 

knew  belonged  to  Heart  of  Nature.  "  No  garden 
is  made  ready  without  ploughing  and  digging,  and 
Cold  with  his  children  Frost  and  Ice  were  among 
the  first  ploughmen  in  my  garden,  Anne. 

"  Heat  and  Cold  were  the  two  first  labourers  that 
Heart  of  God  chose  to  work  out  his  Plan,  far  back 
in  the  bygone  ages,  when  the  Earth  was  but  a  new- 
born thing  and  I  was  alone  with  Heart  of  God." 

"  Oh  please,  dear  Heart  of  Nature,  tell  me  about 
when  the  Earth  was  young,  and  what  the  Cold  and 
Heat  did  to  it,  and  which  is  the  oldest,  the  Earth 
or  the  Moon." 

"There  is  no  way  for  House  People  to  learn 
the  Earth's  story  but  from  the  Earth  herself  — 
she  alone  can  tell  it  rightly.  Cold  also  will  him- 
self show  you  how  he  and  his  children  plough  my 
fields.  Go  to  the  old  barn  by  the  wood  edge,  — 
the  barn  where  Ko-ko-ko-ho  lodges  on  winter 
nights,  and  ask  the  great  icicles  that  hang  from 
the  roof  to  tell  you  their  story. 

"  And  as  for  the  rest,  you  must  ask  the  Moon 
about  that,  for  she  follows  the  Earth  through  the 
sky  garden  year  in  and  out." 

"  Sky  garden  ?  Please,  I  thought  gardens  had 
to  be  places  dug  in  the  earth,  where  things  are 
planted." 

"  Nature's  garden  is  everywhere,  —  in  earth,  sea, 


26  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

and  sky;  in  all  these  places   her   gardeners   are 
toiling  equally  to  carry  on  the  Plan." 

"  Mistress,"  said  Waddles,  growing  impatient  at 
the  way  in  which  Anne  was  slowly  brushing  her 
hair  and  looking  out  of  the  window,  "won't  you 
please  tie  the  ribbon  on  your  braid  quick  and  come 
down  stairs?  Even  if  the  milk  is  frozen  my  nose 
tells  me  that  there  is  delicious  bacon  being  cooked 
with  eggs,  and  you  know  we  always  have  buck- 
wheat cakes  in  winter  on  Saturday  mornings." 

Obi  worked  at  Happy  Hall  altogether  now ; 
that  is,  he  lodg'ed  at  Baldwin's  cottage  across  the 
road,  went  to  school  all  but  the  last  spring  term, 
and  worked  about  the  place  during  the  summer 
and  between  times  for  Anne's  father.  Baldwin 
was  the  man  who  took  care  of  the  horse  and  cows, 
and  did  the  harder  work.  The  children  were 
both  very  fond  of  him  and  called  him  Baldy  for 
a  pet  name  out  of  fondness,  and  not  because  he 
had  very  little  hair.  No  one  seemed  to  know 
about  his  hair,  for  he  wore  his  hat  in  the  barn 
and  outdoors,  summer  and  winter. 

Baldwin  had  been  trained  by  Miss  Jule,  down 
at  the  Horse  Farm,  and  consequently  was  very 
fond  of  animals.  But  as  you  have  not  perhaps 
met  Miss  Jule,  I  will  tell  you  about  her. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VERY  COLD  DAY       27 

Her  father,  who  was  always  called  the  Squire, 
owned  one  of  the  largest  grass  farms  in  the 
county,  and  raised  the  finest  cattle  and  most 
beautiful  horses  ever  seen.  In  fact,  people  came 
from  miles  away  to  buy  them.  When  he  died, 
people  asked  Miss  Jule  what  she  should  do  with 
the  farm. 

"  Run  it  myself,"  she  said,  shutting  her  lips 
together  tight  to  show  that  she  would  not 
argue. 

"  It  will  run  away  with  you  and  all  your  money 
besides,"  said  one  grumpy  old  farmer,  who  had 
expected  to  be  hired  as  manager. 

"  You  will  see,"  said  Miss  Jule ;  and  they  saw, 
but  not  what  they  expected. 


28  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

The  horses  throve.  No  one  broke  the  colts  to 
harness  or  saddle  but  Miss  Jule  herself,  and  there 
was  not  a  docked  tail  or  a  cruel  check-rein  to  be 
seen  among  them.  As  for  dogs,  Miss  Jule  kept 
big  dogs  and  little  dogs,  and  even  had  a  sort  of 
hospital  where  all  the  unfortunate  animals  in  the 
neighborhood  came  to  be  mended  or  cured, 
according  to  their  various  ailments.  Cats, 
Miss  Jule  did  not  keep,  because  she  loved  birds, 
and  then  she  said,  "Of  what  use  are  cats  if  you 
can  have  a  good  ratting-terrier?" 

Martin  boxes  stood  on  a  pole  in  the  barn-yard, 
all  the  nearby  trees  had  Wren  boxes  on  them, 
and  she  hung  out  horse  hair  where  the  Chipping 
Sparrows  could  find  it  to  line  their  nests  ;  also 
strings  for  the  Baltimore  Oriole,  and  always 
kept  a  big  earthenware  pan  full  of  water  under 
a  particular  lilac  bush  in  the  garden  for  a  birds' 
public  bath-tub. 

You  may  wonder  why  so  much  is  said  about 
Miss  Jule ;  but  you  must  be  introduced  to  some 
of  Anne's  friends.  Miss  Jule  was  such  a  par- 
ticular friend  and  such  a  delightful  person,  who 
understood  people's  feelings  so  well  that  the 
children  often  took  little  animals  and  treasures 
for  her  to  keep,  that  they  did  not  think  would 
be  quite  welcome  at  home. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VERY  COLD  DAY       29 

That  morning  Baldwin,  Obi,  two  of  the  select- 
men, and  some  hands  from  the  Horse  Farm  were 
very  busy  breaking  out  the  roads.  The  snow 
had  drifted  badly,  being  very  deep  in  some 
places,  while  others  were  bare,  and  the  sleet  of 
the  early  evening  had  covered  the  snow  with  a 
crust,  and  the  trees  with  diamonds  that  glittered 
in  the  sun. 

Immediately  after  breakfast  who  should  come 
riding  up  to  the  side  door  at  Happy  Hall  but 
Miss  Jule,  mounted  on  Brown  Kate,  a  very  sure- 
footed mare,  who  picked  her  way  daintily  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  novel  sport  as  thoroughly  as 
her  mistress. 

Miss  Jule  was  a  very  funny  figure  on  horse- 
back, for  she  was  quite  tall  and  not  very  young, 
and  she  wore  a  fur  coat  and  cap  and  very  big 
blue  spectacles  to  keep  the  snow  glare  from  her 
eyes.  But  the  fourfoots  and  all  of  the  young 
twofoots  would  never  have  noticed  it  if  she  had 
looked  twice  as  queerly. 

Anne  dashed  out  when  she  saw  Miss  Jule, 
and  then  flew  back  crying,  "  Oh,  father-mother, 
may  I  go  down  to  the  Horse  Farm  ?  Miss  Jule  has 
come  for  me.  She  says  that  she  has  saved  some 
birds  that  were  nearly  frozen  yesterday,  and  that 
she  thinks  there  are  a  lot  of  Quail  in  the  snow 


30  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

in  the  brush  lot,  and  she  wants  Obi  to  come  and 
get  them  out  from  under  the  crust  before  they 
freeze  and  starve. 

"  She  says  I  can  ride  behind  her  on  Brown 
Kate,  and  when  we  come  home  this  afternoon 
the  roads  will  be  cleared  and  I  can  bring  Tom- 
my's new  dog  with  me.  Yes  ?  I  may  go  ? 
Waddlekins  dear,  you  must  stay  at  home  ;  you 
would  simply  break  through  the  crust  and 
smother,  your  legs  are  so  short.  Please  stay 
with  Tommy  to-day,  and  then  to-morrow  the 
new  dog  will  be  here  and  you  and  I  will  begin 
all  over  again." 


It  was  difficult  to  understand  how  it  could  be 
so  cold  when  the  sun  shone  so  brightly.  The 
little  icicles  hanging  from  the  spruces  shivered 
and  cracked  as  the  North  Wind  dashed  around 
the  corner  of  the  house,  whispering  in  Anne's 
ear,  "  What  fun  we  winds  are  having  ;  see  where 
we  have  piled  the  snow  quite  over  the  back 
gate  ;  but  we  have  been  kind  enough  to  sweep  a 
place  bare  in  the  garden  where  you  always  plant 
the  early  peas.  Our  frolic  is  almost  over.  The 
sun  is  getting  too  strong  for  Peboan,  it  blinds 
him,  so  he  has  dropped  his  last  load  of  snow,  and 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE   VERY   COLD   DAY       31 

to-mor*row  he  will  be  marching  northward  again 
with  Wabasso,  the  White  Rabbit." 

"  I  wonder  if  they  call  this  month  March,  be- 
cause it's  the  time  that  Winter  has  to  march 
off,"  said  Anne,  laughing  to  herself  at  the  idea. 

"  I  think  not,  though,  for  I've  read  in  my 
Roman  History  that  it  was  named  after  Mars, 
the  God  of  War,  because  it  was  such  a  quarrel- 
some kind  of  a  month." 

"Here  and  there,  where  we  winds  travel,  the 
months  have  different  names,"  said  Kabibonokka. 
"  Over  in  the  West  country  some  of  the  Red 
Brothers  still  call  this  month  the  Moon  of  Snow 
Blindness,  because  there  the  snow  always  lingers 
late,  and  at  this  season  the  sun  shines  on  it 
with  a  brightness  that  burns  the  eyes  out." 

"  That's  what  it  is  doing  to  my  eyes  now,  so 
if  you  please,  North  Wind,  I'll  pull  my  veil  down, 
and  please  don't  whisper  in  my  ears,  for  it  makes 
them  very  cold  and  they  might  freeze  and  break 
off,  like  the  icicles  yonder.  Don't  pull  my  hat 
so,  Kabibonokka  ;  let  go  my  cape,  sir,  it's  very 
rude  of  you."  But  the  North  Wind  only  gave 
a  long  whistle  and  swept  down  the  road,  snatch- 
ing off  Obi's  cap  and  sifting  a  rift  of  loose  snow 
around  his  neck. 

There  was  a  great  wood  fire  in  the  sitting  room 


32  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

down  at  the  Horse  Farm,  before  which  Anne 
warmed  herself,  and  after  Obi  came  down  Miss 
Jule  gave  them  bowls  of  hot  milk  with  slices  of 
crisp  toast  to  break  in  it.  Then  they  started  to 
make  their  way  back  of  the  hayricks  over  to  the 
old  barn,  where  Miss  Jule  said  she  had  put  her 
cripples.  Anne  carried  a  salt  bag  of  "  bird  hash," 
as  Miss  Jule  called  it,  and  Obi  carried  another 
bag  full  of  buckwheat  over  his  shoulder  to  spread 
about  for  the  Quail. 

"  This  is  lucky,"  thought  Anne,  "  for  while 
we  are  feeding  the  birds,  I  can  ask  the  big  icicles 
how  they  plough  the  ground  and  help  Heart  of 
Nature  in  his  garden." 

"  Why,  Obi,"  she  exclaimed  ten  minutes  later, 
"  how  this  place  has  changed  !  There  used  to 
be  big  holes  in  the  barn  roof  and  now  it  is  all 
thatched  over  with  straw,  there  is  hay  piled  round 
the  ground  and  queer  little  holes  made  here  and 
there,  like  those  in  the  pigeon  house.  Oh  ! 
there's  hay  inside  and  all  sorts  of  perches, 
something  like  our  chicken  roost." 

"Miss  Jule  had  it  fixed  this  way,"  said  Obi, 
dropping  his  bag  and  beating  his  hands  to  warm 
them,  "  so  that  the  birds  and  things  that  stay 
about  here  all  winter  could  creep  in  and  out  of 
the  wind,  and  she  keeps  mixed  seeds  there,  too, 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VERY  COLD  DAY       33 

for  the  birds.  The  Quail  would  have  been  all 
right  if  they  hadn't  strayed  off  to  the  upper 
fields  and  then  couldn't  get  back.  She  makes  the 
men  leave  loose  stacks  of  corn  stalks  here  and  there 
in  the  fields  too,  so  maybe  the  Quail  are  safe  hid- 
den in  some  of  them.  You'd  better  go  in  out  of 
the  wind  and  wait  while  I  go  up  and  look." 

Anne  went  into  the  barn  and  began  to  peep 
about.  It  was  the  same  place  where  she  had  met 
Ko-ko-ko-ho  the  day  that  he  took  her  to  see  the  Bad 
One.  She  had  often  wondered  what  had  become 
of  the  Great  Horned  Owl  and,  without  knowing 
it,  she  said  aloud,  —  "I  do  wonder  if  Ko-ko-ko-ho 
is  alive;  if  he  is,  he  must  be  rather  old  for  a  bird." 

"  Alive,  House  Child,  but  in  very  poor  health, 
and  nearly  starved  too,"  said  a  shrill  voice,  and 
with  a  flop  and  a  lurch  Ko-ko-ko-ho  himself  stood 
before  her.  His  feathers  were  ruffled,  while  one 
wing  did  not  close  properly,  giving  him  a  lop- 
sided appearance. 

"  Why,  how  did  you  come  here  ?  I  thought 
you  didn't  like  barns,  —  or  perhaps  you  have 
given  up  stealing  chickens  and  pigeons,  and  peo- 
ple are  not  hunting  for  you  any  more." 

"  No,  I  met  my  misfortune  in  trying  to  get  one 
of  Miss  Jule's  pigeons  two  nights  ago.  We  had 
finished  our  home,  with  an  old  Crow's  nest  for 

D 


34  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

a  cellar,  in  the  top  of  a  great  tree  in  the  swamp, 
(we  left  the  ledge  because,  after  the  Bad  One 
died,  too  many  people  came  there),  and  my  mate 
was  beginning  to  sit  on  two  beautiful  white  eggs. 
I  promised  to  bring  her  something  good  for  sup- 
per. All  of  a  sudden  the  terrible  things  that 
you  can  feel,  but  not  see,  —  the  Winds  of  Night,  — 
caught  me  in  their  arms,  and,  though  I  fought 
my  best,  I,  who  am  the  King  of  feathered 
fighters,  —  they  dashed  me  against  a  tree  and  I 
dropped  to  the  ground,  in  the  barn-yard  itself, 
with  one  wing  lamed. 

"Next  morning,  I  thought  Miss  Jule  would  either 
have  me  killed  or  put  me  in  a  hateful  cage,  which 
is  much  worse  than  death  to  any  of  the  wild-born 
brothers.  But  they  put  me  in  a  bag  and  brought 
me  here  and  left  me  lumps  of  meat  to  eat.  My 
wing  is  better,  but  I  have  bad  news  from  home. 
This  morning,  Chi-kaug,  the  Skunk,  who  lives 
near  our  swamp,  came  up  looking  for  food  and 
told  me  that  our  eggs  are  frozen,  and  my  mate 
has  gone  away  seeking  me ;  for  when  she  gave 
her  long  '  come-home '  cry  last  night,  —  a  call  that 
echoes  through  the  woods  and  makes  even  House 
People  shiver,  —  I  did  not  answer.  Those  spiteful 
Winds  of  Night  must  have  caught  the  message 
and  carried  it  the  other  way  on  purpose." 


WHAT  HAPPENED  ONE  VEHY  COLD  DAY     35 

"Why  did  you  make  a  nest  so  early?  It  was 
very  silly,  I  think." 

"  Oh,  we  always  do,  though  I  don't  know  why ; 
you  must  ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 

"Have  you  brought  us  any  food?"  lisped  a 
White-vested  Junco,  coming  shyly  from  a  corner 
of  the  hay.  "  There  is  a  flock  of  us  in  there  and 
some  White-throats  too,  and  Grackles  and  a 
Jay ;  but  we  are  a  bit  afraid  of  that  Owl,  even  if 
he  is  sick,  and  we  dared  not  come  out." 

Anne  opened  the  bag  of  food.  On  the  top 
were  some  pieces  of  raw  meat  which  she  threw 
to  Ko-ko-ko-ho,  while  the  rest  of  the  bag  was 
filled  with  acorns,  cracked  corn,  oats,  and  bread- 
crumbs, and  at  the  very  bottom  was  a  beef  bone 
and  a  bit  of  suet. 

"  Here's  plenty  for  all  of  you.  Now  you  wicked 
old  Owl,  do  you  see  that  crack  in  the  floor?  Mind 
and  be  very  careful  to  keep  your  own  side  of  it, 
and  don't  even  look  at  these  other  birds." 

"  This  corn  suits  me  exactly,"  said  Tchin-dees, 
the  Jay,  politely. 

"  How  nice  these  seeds  are,"  murmured  the  Jun- 
cos  and  White-throats  ;  "  we  must  save  that  bone 
for  Ma'ma,  the  big  gold-winged  Woodpecker, — 
she  has  scant  eating  nowadays,  —  and  the  Chicka- 
dees shall  have  the  suet  as  soon  as  they  come  in." 


36  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I  wonder  if  my  mate  will  ever  find  me  again  ?  " 
muttered  Ko-ko-ko-ho,  pausing  as  he  swallowed 
his  last  piece  of  meat. 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  whispered  Kabi- 
bonokka,  rushing  through  the  door,  and  ruffling 
the  Owl's  feathers  until  they  stood  on  end. 

"  Come  out,  Anne,"  he  whispered  in  her  ear, 
"  and  see  the  sign  of  Peboan's  departure.  Watch 
the  ice  bolts  that  lock  the  water  into  snow,  slowly 
unloose,  and  see  the  big  icicles  slip  away  to  water 
again." 

"  Yes,  but  before  they  melt  I  must  ask  those 
icicles  to  tell  me  how  Cold,  Frost,  and  Ice  work 
in  Nature's  garden,"  thought  Anne. 

The  weather  was  growing  warmer.  The  Winds 
had  stopped  their  pranks  and  were  only  rustling 
in  the  roof  thatch.  The  ice  crust  on  the  snow 
was  melting  with  a  little  crackling  noise. 

"  Are  you  the  icicles  that  Heart  of  Nature  told 
me  about?"  said  Anne  to  a  great  pointed  mass 
that  hung  almost  over  the  door. 

"  Yes,  we  are,  if  you  are  the  House  Child  who 
wears  the  Magic  Spectacles.  What  can  we  do  for 
you?" 

"  Tell  me  about  Cold  and  what  it  is  good  for, 
and  please  begin  at  the  very  beginning." 

"  Well,  little  Anne,  the  beginning  is  more  mill- 


WHAT  HAPPENED   ONE   VERY   COLD   DAY        37 

ions  of  years  away  than  you  can  count ;  but  if  it 
had  not  been  for  me  there  might  not  have  been 
any  earth,  or  it  would  have  to  have  been  made 
differently.  When  Heart  of  God  made  the  Plan, 
the  only  thing  he  took  to  work  with  was  a  bit  of 
hot  air  from  the  Sun's  breath,  that  he  whirled 
about  like  a  fiery  ball.  Then  he  made  me,  Cold, 
and  told  me  to  touch  this  ball  and  help  to  make 
it  solid.  By  degrees  I  cooled  it  on  the  outside  to 
a  rocky  crust.  Then  Water  came  next  and  cov- 
ered all  the  earth  and  it  grew  cooler  still.  But 
for  a  long  time  only  seaweeds  and  shapeless 
animals  lived  in  the  water ;  it  was  too  hot  for  any 
other  life.  Then  through  long  ages,  Heat  and 
Water  and  I  worked  out  the  Plan  te  shape  the 
earth  for  man. 

"  Heat  boiling  up  within  the  earth  cracked  the 
rock  crust  and  piled  up  mountains.  Again  I 
thrust  my  fingers  into  the  rock  cracks  and  split 
them  into  bits,  that  Wind  and  Water  could  grind 
to  dust  and  scatter  far  and  wide  to  cover  the 
rocks  with  soil  that  plants  and  trees  might  find 
roothold. 

"  All  this  was  in  the  days  of  the  Earth's  fash- 
ioning. Here,  in  your  country,  each  of  these  time- 
less days  brought  a  new  form  of  life.  Seaweeds 
and  shells  at  first,  then  insects,  frogs,  lizards,  fishes, 


38  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

reptiles,  birds.  Giant  beast  brothers  roamed 
about  in  tropical  forests  that  lay  in  places  now 
covered  half  the  year  with  ice  and  snow. 

"  Still  man  had  not  appeared,  the  earth  was  not 
yet  ready;  every  form  of  beast  was  of  a  higher 
order  than  the  one  before,  the  air  was  purer,  great 
palmlike  trees  gave  shade,  but  there  were  no 
people. 

"Then  was  I  called  again.  I  touched  the 
earth,  who,  swerving  northward  in  its  course, 
began  to  grow  cold  in  parts  where  it  was  once 
warm.  The  tropic  forests  disappeared,  and  ice 
and  snow  were  kings  on  this  cold  day." 

"  Please,  was  it  as  cold  as  yesterday,  and  how 
long  did  it  last?" 

"  It  was  so  cold,  Anne,  that  every  living  thing 
died  on  the  places  the  ice  covered.  I  pushed  my 
fingers  deep  into  the  rocks,  tore  them  asunder, 
and  sent  the  fragments  rolling  thousands  of 
miles  away  to  lands  they  knew  not.  My  icy 
streams  dragged  along  great  boulders  that  under 
the  mass  of  ice  ploughed  hard  rocks  into  soft 
earth. 

" ' Stop  !  '  said  the  Plan ;  'now  disappear  and 
let  me  see  your  work.' 

"  So  I  retreated  to  far-off  mountain  tops,  where 
we  lie  between  the  peaks  to  rest.  New  fruits 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE    VERY   COLD   DAY        39 

sprang  from  the  new  soil,  new  trees,  we  had 
enriched  the  ground  so  that  good  grains  might 
grow — wheat,  oats,  and  corn  —  instead  of  marsh 
weeds.  The  earth  was  ready  then  for  Heart  of 
Man." 

"  Can  you  tell  me  whether  water  is  juicy  rock, 
or  ice  is  rocky  juice?"  continued  Anne,  still  puz- 
zled ;  and  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  "And 
how  can  you  work  in  Nature's  garden  now  that  it 
is  all  done  and  men  live  in  it  ?  " 

"  Is  a  garden  ever  finished,  little  Anne?  Every 
fall  your  ground  is  dug  and  ploughed  and  fresh 
soil  added  to  feed  the  plants.  So  every  winter  I  go 
down  to  the  water  in  the  ground  and  touch  it  and 
it  freezes  hard.  Then  when  spring  comes  again, 
and  I  call  back  the  frost,  the  ice  swelling  as  it 
melts  splits  the  earth  apart,  ploughs  into  the  soil 
and  leavens  it.  Look  in  your  garden  soon  and 
you  will  see  buried  stones  pushed  up  and  the  earth 
all  cracked  and  rent.  Thus  rocks  are  worn  to 
make  new  soil,  and  valleys  are  filled  and  moun- 
tains planed  away.  Until  the  earth  stops  going 
round,  so  will  the  ploughing  and  planting  go  on 
in  Nature's  garden." 

"When  the  water  that  froze  in  my  pitcher 
thaws,  will  it  crack  the  pitcher  ? " 

"  Surely." 


40  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Why  does  ice  swell  when  it  melts  ?  "  persisted 
Anne. 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  shouted  Kabi- 
bonokka,  knocking  off  the  biggest  icicle  as  he 
disappeared  over  the  hill  down  which  Obi  was 
coming  slowly,  carrying  something  carefully  under 
his  arms. 

"  Did  you  find  any  Quail  ? "  called  Anne,  as 
soon  as  he  was  within  hearing  distance. 

"  They  are  all  right,  only  hungry,"  Obi  answered. 
"  They  went  into  the  stacks  of  corn  stalks  —  such 
things  make  fine  shelter ;  but  this  poor  bird  is 
nearly  dead.  I  found  him  most  frozen  to  the 
crust."  So  saying,  he  uncovered  a  fine  Ruffed 
Grouse  that  he  was  shielding  carefully  with  the 
empty  grain  bag.  It  did  not  move,  though  you 
could  tell  by  the  expression  of  its  beautiful  eyes 
that  it  was  alive. 

"  There  is  something  the  matter  with  its  legs," 
said  Anne ;  "  one  seems  to  be  bent,  and  its  claws 
are  frozen  stiff.  I  think  we  had  better  take  it 
down  to  Miss  Jule  as  quick  as  we  can."  So  they 
hurried  off,  walking  on  the  tops  of  the  stone 
fences  whenever  they  could,  to  save  time. 

"  Miss  Jule,  may  we  have  some  warm  water  to 
put  this  poor  bird's  feet  in  ?  They  are  all  frozen," 
said  Anne,  as  soon  as  they  were  inside  the  house. 


WHAT   HAPPENED   ONE   VERY   COLD   DAY        41 

"  Not  hot  water,  girlie,  snow,"  said  Miss  Jule, 
promptly  opening  the  window  and  securing  a 
handful.  "  Give  the  bird  to  me ;  no,  I  won't 
hurt  it  —  now  turn  it  on  its  back,  gently,  so,  and 
watch  me  rub  its  poor  little  claws."  Then  she 
began  very  carefully  to  rub  each  claw  with 
snow. 

After  five  minutes  or  so  one  claw  began  to  grow 
softer  and  curl  up,  then  the  other.  Next  she 
pried  open  the  bird's  beak  and  gave  it  a  few  drops 
of  warm  water. 

"Now  we  will  put  it  in  a  basket  out  in  the 
pantry,  with  some  food  near-by,  and  it  will  soon 
pick  up,"  she  said  cheerfully. 

"Please,  why  didn't  you  put  its  feet  in  hot 
water  and  set  it  by  the  fire  ?  "  asked  Anne. 

"  Well,  you  see  when  flesh  is  frozen  it  is  all 
hard  and  drawn  up,  and  if  it  gets  hot  and  thaws 
too  suddenly,  it  will  swell  up  until  it  almost  bursts; 
so  it  is  better  to  keep  it  cool  and  rub  the  cold  out 
little  by  little." 

"  Yes,"  thought  Anne,  "  the  same  as  when  the 
frost  comes  out  of  the  ground  it  swells  up  and 
makes  cracks  in  it,  and  the  water  swells  up  in  the 
pitcher ;  only  I  don't  believe  that  little  bit  of 
water  could  crack  my  pitcher,  for  it  wasn't  but 
half  full." 


42  kWABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

After  a  one  o'clock  dinner,  Anne  went  down  to 
the  stables  to  see  the  horses  and  be  introduced  to 
the  new  dog,  and  Obi  searched  among  the  har- 
nesses for  a  chain  or  strap  to  lead  him  home 
with. 

"  Here  he  is,  Anne,"  called  Miss  Jule,  as  up 
trotted  a  clumsy  bundle  of  buff  and  white  woolly 
hair  supported  on  four  legs  that  wabbled  with  the 
weight,  each  leg  ending  in  a  paw  that  weighed  a 
pound. 

"  Is  that  —  a  —  puppy  ?  "  gasped  Anne,  as  the 
great  thing  jumped  up,  tried  to  lick  her  face,  then 
rolled  over  on  the  ground  and  gnawed  one  of  her 
rubber  boots. 

"  Yes,  and  a  very  fine  one,  too,  for  four  months 
old ;  when  he  is  grown  he  will  stand  thirty-four 
inches  at  the  shoulder." 

"  What  is  his  name,  Miss  Jule,  and  what  is  the 
matter  with  his  feet  ?  Have  they  been  frozen  too 
and  swelled  up  ?  " 

"  His  name  is  Mat,  but  I  think  Lumberlegs 
would  be  more  suitable  at  present.  His  feet  are 
quite  right,  only  his  body  will  have  to  grow  to 
catch  up  with  them,  just  as  a  colt  has  to  grow  up 
to  its  long  legs,"  said  Miss  Jule,  laughing. 

"  Lumberlegs  is  a  splendid  name  for  him  ;  but 
somehow  I  thought  a  puppy  would  be  rather  little 


WHAT   HAPPENED  ONE   VERY   COLD   DAY        43 

at  first,"  said  Anne,  with  a  sigh.  "I'm  afraid 
Waddles  will  be  simply  shocked  when  he  sees  him, 
and  if  he  chose  to  fight,  Waddles  would  be  no- 
where. " 

On  the  walk  home  Anne  kept  telling  Lumber- 
legs  what  he  must  do,  and  begged  him  to  be  very 
polite  to  Waddles.  He,  however,  spent  most  of 
the  time  in  running  around  Obi  and  twisting  him- 
self up  in  the  chain,  until,  when  they  were  in 
sight  of  the  house,  Anne  had  made  up  her  mind 
to  take  him  to  the  barn  for  the  night ;  but  there 
sat  Waddles  on  the  steps  looking  anxiously  down 
the  road. 

"Mind  what  I  tell  you  now,"  said  Anne  to 
Lumbeiiegs,  as  Obi  unsnapped  the  chain  from 
his  collar.  Waddles  stood  immovable,  with  » 
most  scornful  expression  and  his  head  and  tail 
erect. 

Wasted  words  !  Lumberlegs  made  a  bound, 
crouched  a  moment,  and  then  with  one  dab  of  his 
paw  rolled  Waddles  down  the  steps,  all  the  while 
grinning  and  wagging  his  tail  as  if  it  was  the  best 
joke  in  the  world. 

Anne  started  to  pick  up  Waddles  and  comfort 
him,  telling  Obi,  who  was  laughing  heartily,  "  To 
take  that  horrid  brute  to  the  barn  and  tie  him 
up." 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


Much  to  her  surprise,  however,  Waddles  picked 
himself  up  without  growling,  whispering,  "  Mis- 
tress, as  he's  a  stranger  I  think  you  might  ex- 
cuse him  ;  I  couldn't  have  done  that  better 
myself,  and,  if  we  get  to  be  friends,  I  think  I  see 
the  finish  of  the  Miller's  cat." 

So  Obi  took  Lumberlegs  in  to  be  introduced 

to  Tommy ;  while 
Anne,  on  running  up 
stairs  to  see  if  any- 
thing had  happened 
to  her  water  pitcher, 
found  it  cracked  in 
two. 


?EBOAN,  the  White 
Rabbit,  and  Kabibo- 
nokka   disappeared 
together  the  day  af- 
ter the  great  snow, 
sure,  they   left    many 
traces   of   their   handiwork,   but 
Gheezis  gives  long  working  days 
:  '"=3|=i#-=L^  at  this  season  of  the  year,  open- 
j|L  ing  his  eastern  gates  at  six  and 
not  burying  his  head  in  the  west- 
ern cloud  pillows  for  twelve  hours.     Nothing  is 
so  annoying  to  snow  as  to  have  the  Sun  smile  ; 
it  is  the  one  thing  that  it  cannot  endure,  and  just 
now  the  Sun  fairly  laughed  with  merriment  and 

called  the  South  Wind  to  carry  his  warm  breath 

45 


46 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


into  corners  that  he  could  not  reach  alone.  All 
day  long  these  two  toiled  together,  worrying  the 
snow  until  it  turned  and  fled,  taking  any  way  of 
escape  it  could  find.  Some  of  it  changed  to 
water  and  ran  away  as  fast  as  it  could  down- 
hill to  hide  in  the  first  friendly  brook  or  pond. 
Some  of  it  sank  deep  into  the  ground,  the  rest 
turned  into  mist  and  lifted  itself  into  the  air. 
At  night,  when  the  Sun  and  the  South 
Wind  grew  weary,  Mudjekeewis  came 
and  swept  the  vapours  away,  or,  if 
f  they  were  too  thick  and  heavy, 
inging  fast  to  his  broom, 
Keewaydin  came  to  help 
with  his  purifying  breath, 
it  happened  that  in  a 
very  few  days  there 
was  nothing  to  tell 
of  the  great  storm 
but  little  patches 
of  white  on  the 
north  side  of  fences, 
and  in  sheltered  hol- 
3,  broken  tree  limbs, 
beaten  down  bushes,  and 
streams  that  roared  and  threat- 
ened to  leap  over  their  banks. 


DR.   ANNE  47 

Early  one  afternoon,  as  soon  as  lessons  and 
dinner  were  over,  Anne,  wearing  long  rubber 
boots,  went  off  through  the  orchard  and  up  the 
hill  toward  the  old  oak  trees  where  she  had  first 
met  Heart  of  Nature  and  heard  the  grass  grow. 
It  was  her  favourite  outdoor  playroom,  cool  in 
summer,  sheltered  from  the  wind  in  all  but  the 
bitterest  winter  weather,  and  dry  on  an  early 
spring  day  like  this  when  all  the  meadows  and 
river  woods  were  shoe  deep  and  soggy  with  mud. 

Anne  sat  down  upon  an  old  log,  the  remains 
of  an  oak,  blown  down  many  years  before,  and 
looked  about. 

"  Not  a  scrap  of  a  leaf  yet,"  she  said,  sighing ; 
"  not  even  a  real  nice  grass  blade  to  answer 
questions,  though  Obi  says  there  are  Pussy- 
willows over  by  the  mill  pond.  I  wonder  what 
has  become  of  Rattle  and  Stripe-back,  the  Chip- 
munk? My,  what  a  to-do  the  Crows  are  mak- 
ing over  in  the  river  woods !  I  think  I'll  try 
bo  wade  over  there  as  there  is  no  one  here  to 
talk  to.  I  wonder  what  has  become  of  Wad- 
dles? I  couldn't  find  him  anywhere." 

"  We  are  here,  House  Child,"  said  a  clear  crisp 
voice,  "  we  are  always  here ;  and  though  the  other 
trees,  that  give  deep  shade  and  wear  leaf  cloaks 
in  summer,  are  bare,  we  are  ever-green." 


48  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"You  dear  little  Christmas  tree,  I  had  almost 
forgotten  you,"  cried  Anne,  looking  around ; 
"and  the  tiny  pines,  too  —  why,  how  they  have 
grown !  They  are  taller  than  you,  yet  they  are 
a  couple  of  years  younger.  Why  is  that  ?  " 

"They  are  White  Pines,  and  though  we 
belong  to  their  family,  they  seem  to  grow  faster 
than  we  Spruces.  You  see  they  wear  longer 
wands,  with  fewer  side  branches  ;  while  we  make 
shorter  growth  and  our  leaves  are  much  thicker, 
so  that  we  give  better  winter  shelter  for  the 
birds." 

"  Leaves  !  I  didn't  know  that  Evergreens  had 
leaves.  I  thought  those  green  prickles  that  grow 
all  over  you  were  called  needles.  Yes,  I'm  very 
sure  anyway  that  father  says  '  pine  needles. '  ' 

"Do  you  know  what  a  leaf  is,  and  what  its 
work  is  in  my  garden  ?  "  asked  a  voice  from  the 
great  oak  tree. 

"  Oh,  Heart  of  Nature,  you  are  back  in  your 
very  own  tree  again.  Now  I'm  sure  spring  has 
come  and  everything  will  be  right,"  cried  Anne, 
clapping  her  hands  in  delight.  "  Yes,  I  know 
about  leaves,  that  is  —  a  —  little.  They  are 
what  the  tree  breathes  with,  —  sort  of  like  lungs, 
you  know." 

"Yes,  they  help  the  tree  to  breathe  and  they 


DR.   ANNE  49 

supply  it  with  its  food  of  air  and  sunlight,  while 
under  the  earth  the  roots  are  busy  sucking  up 
more  solid  food,  and  sending  it  up  in  sap  for  the 
leaves.  While  root  and  leaf  work  in  perfect 
brotherhood,  all  goes  well,  for  each  is  useless 
without  the  other. 

"In  autumn  when  I  call  the  sap  backward,  and 
bid  it  sleep  in  the  roots  while  Kabibonokka  reigns, 
what  happens  to  the  leaves  ?  " 

"They  are  through  working  and  they  dry  up 
and  drop  off,"  said  Anne,  promptly;  "and  close 
beside  the  place  where  they  hung,  and  sometimes 
quite  under  it,  there  is  a  tiny  little  point  of  a  bud 
quite  ready  to  unroll  and  be  a  leaf  or  a  twig  next 
spring.  But,  dear  Heart  of  Nature,  the  Evergreen 
needles  don't  unroll  or  fall  off  or  change  colour  or 
do  any  of  these  things,  so  they  can't  be  leaves." 

"  Where  did  the  soft  brown  Pine  needles  come 
from  that  you  and  Tommy  raked  up  last  autumn, 
to  make  a  carpet  for  your  play  wigwam  on  the 
other  side  of  the  house  ?  " 

"  They  must  have  falten  off  the  big  old  Pines,  I 
—  suppose,"  faltered  Anne ;  "  but  I  never  have 
noticed  them  come  down,  and  the  trees  didn't 
look  a  bit  bare  without  them  anyway." 

"  The  needles  are  as  much  leaves  as  those  of  an 
Oak.  Look  at  this  little  Spruce,  that  you  call  a 


50  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

Christmas  tree,"  said  Heart  of  Nature.  "  You 
see  that  the  needles  on  the  end  sprays  that  grew 
last  year  are  set  closely  together.  Look  at  the 
next  joint  of  the  branch  that  marks  the  previous 
year's  growth ;  they  are  not  quite  so  thickly  set. 
Go  back  one  joint  farther  and  you  see  the  needles 
are  scanty.  One  joint  still  farther  and  there  are 
no  needles,  the  main  stern  is  bare,  though  little 
side  twigs  of  newer  growth  still  wear  their  green 
feathers.  So,  Anne,  you  see  by  this  that  the  little 
leaf  needles  may  cling  for  three  whole  seasons, 
and  as  only  a  third  part  of  them  fall  away  at  any 
one  time,  the  trees  seem  truly  ever-green" 

"  It  is  very  wonderful,"  sighed  Anne  ;  "  I 
don't  see  how  there  can  be  so  many  kinds  of 
leaves  when  they  all  do  the  same  sort  of  work." 

"  The  Plan  arranged  it  all,"  said  Heart  of  Na- 
ture, "and  then  every  plant  as  well  as  animal 
works  according  to  its  kind.  Do  you  remember 
when  the  little  Oak  left  the  acorn  lunch  basket, 
how  it  stretched  up  two  hands,  while  the  Pine 
stretched  out  six  slender  claws  ?  The  differences 
of  things  are  from  the  very  seed." 

Mudjekeewis  came  slowly  up  the  hill  and 
whispered  to  Heart  of  Nature,  then  they  two 
hastened  through  the  woods  together,  leaving 
Anne  to  talk  to  the  little  Evergreens. 


DR.   ANNE  51 

"  One  thing  I  know,  it  is  very  hard  to  tell 
you  needle  trees  apart,"  said  Anne  after  a  while. 
"  I  wish  your  leaves  were  not  so  much  alike. 
I  know  a  Hemlock,  of  course,  because  it  waves 
its  branches  about  so,  and  the  Pines  have  long 
needles  and  the  Spruces  stumpy  ones.  If  you 
only  had  nice  flowers  and  fruit,  it  would  help 
one  so  much  !  " 

"  Oh,"  cried  the  Pines  and  Spruce  together, 
"our  leaves  are  as  different  as  oak  leaves  are 
from  nettles.  We  have  the  most  beautiful  hardy 
fruit  beside,  that  stays  on  so  long  that  you  can 
look  at  it  all  you  wish.  We  are  surprised  at 
you,  Anne,  when  you  wear  the  Magic  Spectacles, 
too." 

"  The  Magic  Spectacles  are  to  see  the  rare 
strange  sights  in  Whyland,"  said  Anne,  provoked 
at  having  overlooked  something  that  was  under 
her  nose,  and  yet  not  liking  to  own  it. 

"In  Whyland  the  talk  I  would  teach  you  is 
of  the  Nearby,"  whispered  Heart  of  Nature, 
passing  down  the  slope  again  and  using  the 
very  words  with  which  he  had  first  spoken  to 
Tommy-Anne. 

"  Please  tell  me  about  your  family,"  said  Anne, 
turning  hurriedly  to  the  little  Pines.  "  That  is, 
I  should  like  to  know  about  as  many  of  you  as 


grow  nearby  enough  for  Obi  and 
me  to  see,"  she  added. 
"  There  are  eight  of  us  hereabouts," 
said  the  Pine.     "  Seven  grow  wild, 
where  the  wind,  the  Squirrels,  the 
Jays,  or  our  parents  have  dropped 
the  seeds.      The  eighth  lives  in 
the  big  hedge  at  the  north  side 
of  your  garden,  where  Heart  of 
Man  planted  many  of  them  in  a 
close  row  to  keep  the  wind  off,  for 
its  home  woods  are  farther  north 
than  here. 

"The  Pine  is  the  Homestead 
Family  of  us  all,  though  we 
are  gathered  in  dif- 


DR.    ANNE  53 

ferent  households  as  cousins  are  among  House 
People. 

"  I  am  the  White  Pine.  You  see  I  wear  fine 
long  silky  soft  needles,  five  in  a  bunch.  I  can 
grow  to  be  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height  if 
I  am  let  alone  ;  but  my  white  wood  is  valuable, 
and  so  I  rarely  live  my  life  out.  In  late  spring 
the  grown-up  Pines  hang  on  the  upper  branch 
tips  the  feathery  catkins  that  are  the  flower  in 
our  family.  Then  follows  the  cone,  our  fruit,  for 
between  its  divisions  the  seed  grows  and  drops 
away  before  the  cone  itself  falls.  These  cones, 
a  bit  longer  than  your  middle  finger,  are  often 
smeared  with  pine  gum,  and  House  People  gather 
them  up  to  make  bright  fires  in  autumn." 

"Of  course,  I  always  have  some  to  make  my 
'  go-to-bed  '  fire  blaze  up.  White  Pine,  jive  soft 
needles  in  a  bunch,  middling  long  sticky  cones," 
Anne  repeated,  as  if  learning  a  lesson. 

"  There  are  Red  or  Norway  Pines  in  the  Mil- 
ler's woods,"  continued  the  little  tree ;  "  they 
have  reddish  bark  and  they  only  grow  to  be 
half  as  tall  as  we  do,  and  they  only  have  two 
stiff  needles  in  each  bunch  ;  their  cones  grow  in 
bunches,  too,  and  are  smooth  and  not  half  as  long 
as  ours  are. 

"Then   the    Pitch    Pines   over   on    Wild   Cat 


GLLEbOW 

Mountain  have 
rough  bark  and 
cones  and  three 

,  stiff  hard  needles  in  a  bunch  ;  their 
blood  makes  turpentine,  and  they  are 
useful  trees.  So  if  you  will  do  a  little 
thinking,  you  may  easily  tell  us  apart." 
"My  brothers  are  quite  as  easy  to 
know,"  put  in  the  Christmas  tree,  who 
was  itself  a  White  Spruce.  "  Our  pale- 
pointed  leaves  are  set  on  singly,  not  in  pairs, 
and  are  only  half  an  inch  long  or  there- 
abouts. Our  drooping  cones  are  slender  and 
a  couple  of  inches  long,  falling  the  first  win- 
ter ;  while  my  brother,  the  Black  Spruce,  wears 
shorter  cones  that  stand  up  and  cling  to  the  trees 
for  several  years. 

"The  Hemlock  Spruce,  our  graceful  dancing 
cousin,  has  flat,  round-ended  needles,  sweeping 
branches,  and  little  loose  cones  that  you  would 
hardly  notice." 

"  You  said  that  our  garden  hedge  was  one  of 
64 


DK.    ANNE  55 

your  family ;  but  it  doesn't  have  any  needles  or 
cones,  only  sort  of  flat  twigs,"  said  Anne. 

"There  again  is  a  difference  in  the  Plan,"  whis- 
pered Heart  of  Nature.  "  The  Arbor  Vitee  of  the 
hedge  has  neither  what  you  call  leaves  nor  needles, 
but  flattened  scales  that  do  its  work  quite  as  well. 
The  reason  that  you  do  not  see  the  cones  is  be- 
cause your  trees  are  kept  trimmed  back  like 
bushes.  The  pointed-topped  Red  Cedars,  with 
the  fragrant  heart  wood,  growing  on  the  stony 
hill  have  these  same  scaly  leaves  and  no  cones, 
but  instead,  bluish  berries  that  winter  birds  love. 
That  flat  straggling  Dwarf  Cedar,  or  Juniper  bush 
over  yonder  on  the  ground,  wears  these  same  leafy 
scales  and  purple  berries." 

"It  sounds  very  easy,"  said  Anne,  who  had  been 
trying  to  keep  count  of  the  different  Evergreens 
on  her  fingers;  "but  I  think  I  had  better  take  up 
a  collection  of  these  needles  and  twigs  and  cones 
and  take  them  home  and  put  labels  on  them,  the 
•way  mother  does  on  the  ferns  and  flowers  in  her 
herbarium.  I  wonder  where  Waddles  is  ?  "  she 
added. 

"  Going  down  the  river  road  with  Obi,"  said 
Rattle's  eldest  son,  who  had  the  fall  before  moved 
into  the  family  oak  and  had  quite  recently  set  up 
squirrel  housekeeping  for  himself.  "And,  do  you 


56  WABENO,    THE    MAGICIAN 

know,"  he  continued,  "the  great  lumbering  House 
Fourfoot  that  came  from  the  Horse  Farm  is  with 
Waddles  and  stays  with  him  all  the  time.  Yes- 
terday they  were  up  here  trying  to  dig  me  out 
and  —  "  But  he  had  no  one  to  listen,  for  Anne 
was  going  across  lots  to  the  road  as  fast  as  her 
rubber  boots  would  allow. 

"  Obi,"  she  called  as  soon  as  she  was  within  hear- 
ing distance,  "  Obi,  wait  —  a  —  minute.  Where 
are  you  going  with  that  queer  looking  pitchfork 
and  the  fishing  pole  ?  "  Anne  dropped  down  on  the 
broad  stone  fence  by  the  road  to  rest,  for  the  soft 
ground  and  her  boots  made  running  very  tiresome. 

"  That  isn't  a  pitchfork,  it's  an  Eel  spear,  and  I'm 
going  to  the  river  for  Eels,"  said  Obi,  pausing. 
"  Some  of  the  biggest  ones  go  down  the  river  now, 
just  when  the  ice  has  broken.  If  they're  hungry, 
I  can  hook  some,  and  then  I'll  try  spearing  in  the 
mud  for  the  fellows  that  haven't  come  out  of  their 
winter  holes  yet." 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  too.  Will  you  wait  while  I 
go  and  ask  father-mother?  Please  do,  and  I'll 
take  Lumberlegs  back  ;  we  don't  want  him,  and 
anyway  he  belongs  to  Tommy,  who  has  to  stay  in- 
doors to-day  because  he  was  croupy  last  night." 

"  Your  father  said  you  might  go ;  I  asked  him 
in  case  I  met  you.  I  shut  Lumberlegs  into  the 


DR.    ANNE  57 

barn,  but  a  minute  ago  he  came  galloping  down  the 
road.  You  see  we  brought  him  up  from  the  Horse 
Farm,  and  so  he  thinks  that  he  belongs  to  us." 

Waddles  said  nothing  but  walked  to  and  fro 
with  a  careless,  jaunty  wag  of  his  tail,  first  sniffing 
the  air,  then  the  ground.  No  one  noticed  that  he 
winked  knowingly  at  Lumberlegs,  who  immedi- 
ately made  a  puddle  of  himself  in  the  middle  of 
the  road. 

"Go  home,"  ordered  Anne,  pointing  back  toward 
the  house. 

Lumberlegs  only  flattened  himself  still  more, 
wagging  his  tail  and  sprinkling  Anne  with  mud. 

"Do  make  him  go  home,  Obi,"  she  begged  ;  "he 
will  splash  round  in  the  water  and  spoil  your  fish- 
ing." 

Obi  took  a  firm  hold  of  the  broad  collar  and 
braced  his  feet,  but  merciful  Miss  Jule  had  made 
the  collar  so  loose  that  it  slipped  over  the  dog's 
head,  tumbling  Obi  over  backward,  while  Lumber- 
legs  never  budged. 

"Waddles,"  ordered  Anne,  "either  make  that 
dog  go  home  or  see  that  he  stays  away  from  the 
river ;  we  can't  waste  any  more  time  on  him.  He 
doesn't  understand  one  word  we  say,  and  though 
he  is  big,  he  is  so  fat  and  soft  that  I  don't  like  to 
whip  him." 


58 


WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 


"  Yes,  missy,"  replied  Waddles,  meekly,  falling 
behind  and  whispering  something  to  Lumberlegs, 
who  grinned  and  immediately  got  on  his  feet,  gave 
his  companion  an  admiring  lick  and  ambled  beside 
him,  until  the  turn  in  the  road,  where  the  pair 
crawled  under  some  bars  and  splashed 
across  the  low  fields  toward  the  mill- 
pond. 

"Say,  say!  they're  up  to  mischief," 
cried  Tchin-dees,  the  Jay. 

"  Keo-keo,  hunting  is  hunting,  so 
mind  your  own  affairs  and  don't  tell 
tales !     I  never  meddle  unless  I'm 
hungry,"    cried   Zoah,   the   Red- 
tailed  Hawk,  as  he  sailed  to  and 
fro,  making  magic  circles  in  the 
sky,  with  scarcely  a  wing  flap. 
Then  he  flew  to  the  top  of 
a  tall  tree  in  the  river  woods, 
where  he  had  nested  for  many 
springs. 

Notwithstanding,  Tchin- 
dees  kept  on  calling  as  he 
slipped  through  the  trees, 
Beware,   Wazhusk,  the 
^  I    Muskrat ;  take  the  water 
path  back  to  your  winter  lodge. 


n 


DK.   ANNE  59 

Two  House  Fourfoots  are  on  the  hunting  path, — 
one  is  the  little  Fourfoot  with  long  ears;  but  the 
other,  though  newer  born,  is  of  a  greater  bigness 
than  the  Gray  Wolves  that  Kaw  Ondaig's  great- 
grandmother  used  to  know. 

"  Fly  up  from  the  mill-pond,  Wawa,  and  go  on 
your  journey ;  you  have  rested  quite  long  enough 
for  a  Wild  Goose.  Chi-kaug,  get  back  under  the 
stone  fence  ;  this  mighty  House  Fourfoot  is  young, 
and  more  valorous  than  discreet  ;  he  does  not  yet 
even  respect  a  Scent  Cat,  thoughthat  day  will  come" 

Meanwhile  Anne  and  Obi  continued  down  the 
road  toward  the  river,  and  they  could  hear  Aspetuck 
roaring  and  scolding  as  he  rushed  along,  instead  of 
whispering  gently  as  he  did  in  summer-time. 

"  Is  the  ice  gone,  and  isn't  it  very  early  for  Eels  ?  " 
said  Anne.  "  You  know  only  a  week  or  so  ago  we 
walked  across  the  pond,  above  the  dam,  on  the  ice." 

"  It  all  went  down  of  a  lump  two  days  back," 
said  Obi.  "  If  you  want  to  catch  the  nice,  fresh 
tasting  river  Eels  you  must  be  sharp  at  it  after  the 
ice  goes,  or  they  will  have  gone  down,  too,  and  the 
pond  Eels,  though  some  of  them  are  big,  taste  more 
muddy." 

"  Why  do  Eels  go  down  stream  in  the  spring  ? 
Do  all  kinds  of  fish  go  down,  too?  Are  Eels 
fishes  or  snakes,  anyway  ? "  questioned  Anne ; 


60  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

while  Obi,  who  was  rather  slow  of  speech,  waited 
until  they  reached  the  bridge  before  answering. 

It  was  well  that  the  bridge  was  good  and  strong 
or  it  would  have  floated  away  that  day,  as  many 
another  had  done  before. 

"  I  guess  you  had  better  stay  up  here,"  said  Obi, 
presently,  "  while  I  work  up  stream  a  little  and 
find  a  pool  where  the  water  is  slack,  or  I  might 
spear  a  few  Eels  by  the  falls  up  near  the  dam.  If 
you  come  you'll  get  in  over  your  boots,  as  sure  as 
water's  wet.  Besides,  you  can  see  all  right  from 
here,  up  and  down." 

"  But  you  didn't  tell  me  why  Eels  go  down,  and 
if  they  are  snakes  or  fish,"  reminded  Anne. 

"  They're  fish,  I'm  sure  of  that  much,"  said  Obi, 
"  though  I  guess  they  are  as  near  snakes  as  can  be 
without  getting  into  the  Snake  Family  with  both 
feet.  I  don't  know  why  the  big  ones  go  down  the 
river  in  spring,  but  they  do  ;  or  why  fish,  that  is 
some  kinds  of  fish  like  Shad,  come  up  the  river 
right  aft3r  the  Eels  have  gone  down.  Shad  don't 
get  quite  as  far  up  as  this  though ;  they  come  where 
the  river  gets  broad,  down  nearer  salt  water. 
Baldy  says  he  always  used  to  set  nets  for  them 
along  in  April,  for  they  don't  bite  much. 

"  See  !  Look  up  there  in  that  little  slack  place 
under  the  old  willow  root.  I  saw  an  Eel  jump 


DR.   ANNE  61 

clean  up  on  land  and  slide  back  again  ;  I'm  sure 
as  luck  that  a  big  Pickerel  was  after  him  !  There 
goes  another  !  My,  the  water  in  that  side  flume- 
way  is  all  stripy  with  them  !  " 

Obi  stopped  to  bait  a  pair  of  hooks,  his  fingers 
trembling  with  excitement,  and  then  strode  off. 

"  Mayn't  I  try  to  catch  just  one?"  pleaded  Anne. 

"  I'd  let  you  in  a  minute  if  it  was  anything  but 
Eels,  but  they  are  awfully  snappy  things,  and  they 
squirm  so  you'd  most  likely  get  your  fingers 
hooked,  and  that's  poor  fun.  Suppose  I  had  to 
cut  the  hook  out ;  you  wouldn't  like  it  a  bit." 

Anne  amused  herself  by  walking  up  and  down  the 
bridge  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  kneeling,  rested 
her  chin  on  the  middle  rail  and  looked  into  the  water. 

"  You  don't  seem  a  bit  like  yourself,  old  Aspe- 
tuck,"  she  said. 

"  I  don't  feel  like  myself  either,"  answered  the 
river,  stopping  and  swirling  around  the  bridge 
pier  to  gain  time  to  answer.  "  This  is  the  season 
when  I  am  bothered  to  death  by  all  the  water 
tramps  from  the  hills  that  rush  down  and  insist  that 
I  shall  lead  them  to  the  sea.  I'm  really  worked  to 
death,  and  I'm  all  in  a  whirl,  as  you  see." 

"  But  why  do  you  bother  with  these  tramps?" 
said  Anne  ;  "  why  don't  you  tell  them  to  stay 
where  they  belong  ?  " 


62  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Heart  of  Nature  says  that  I  must  show  them 
the  way  each  spring,  so  that  the  land  may  become 
dry  and  be  fit  for  the  crops  to  grow.  There,  I 
must  be  off  again." 

"  Please  stop  long  enough  to  tell  me  why  Eels 
go  down  the  river  and  Shad  come  up  in  spring," 
begged  Anne  ;  but  Aspetuck  continued  whirling 
by  without  speaking,  except  to  scold  and  drive 
the  water  tramps,  now  bidding  them  stay  in  the 
proper  channel  and  not  keep  snatching  pieces 
from  the  banks,  then  hurrying  them  along. 

"  We  can  tell  you  about  the  Eels  and  the  Shad, 
too,  if  you  will  listen  carefully,  for  our  voices  are 
small ;  we  must  whisper  and  cannot  roar  like 
Aspetuck ;  we  may  only  sing  on  spring  and  sum- 
mer nights." 

"Who  are  you?  I  can  hear  you,  but  I  see 
nothing,"  said  Anne,  looking  toward  the  wet 
bank,  where  a  little  line  of  foam  showed  rainbow- 
hued  bubbles,  as  the  sunbeams  played  on  it. 

"We  are  the  Nee-ba-naw-baigs  of  the  Red 
Brothers,  the  Water  Spirits,  children  of  Pau-pauk- 
kee-wis,  the  storm  fool.  No  one  may  see  us  who 
lives  above  the  water.  We  serve  Wabeno,  the  Ma- 
gician, and  do  his^bidding  in  all  the  waterways." 

"  Do  )7ou  always  live  in  the  water  and  always 
move  like  Aspetuck  ?  " 


DR.   ANNE  63 

"  We  travel  here  and  there,  singing  our  songs 
to  all  who  listen,  but  our  home  is  in  the  Village 
in  the  Pond." 

"  The  Village  in  the  Pond  !  I  didn't  know 
that  there  was  anything  in  the  pond  but  some  fish 
and  Eels  and  Water  Lilies,"  exclaimed  Anne,  in 
surprise. 

"  Ah,  you  are  very  young  yet,  and  you  cannot 
travel  all  through  Nature's  garden  even  in  the 
bunch  of  years  that  House  People  call  life  —  so 
it  is  not  strange  that  you  do  not  know.  But,  as 
Heart  of  Nature  has  lent  you  the  Magic  Glasses, 
and  you  understand  our  language,  you  shall  see 
this  village  if  you  wish.  When  the  first  white 
lily  blooms  the  first  day  on  the  mill-pond,  come  to 
the  landing  and  enter  the  boat  that  is  always 
fastened  there.  Then  you  shall  see  this  village, 
with  its  streets  and  houses,  trees,  gardens,  and 
the  birds  that  skim  its  air.  Remember,  when  the 
first  Water  Lily  blooms." 

"  Oh,  how  splendid  !  I  won't  forget,"  cried 
Anne ;  "  bat  about  the  Eels  and  Shad.  I  suppose 
the  Eels  are  hatched  in  the  pond,  and  as  soon  as 
they  are  grown  up  they  want  to  go  out  swimming 
and  see  the  world."  % 

"Oh  no,  House  Child.  The  Eels  are  born 
down  in  the  deep  salt-water  chambers,  where 


64  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

the  seas  and  rivers  swirl  and  make  eddies  with  the 
shock  of  meeting.  In  the  Goose  Moon  and  in 
the  Planting  Moon  the  tiny  Eels  swarm  up  the 
rivers.  Some  are  of  the  smalluess  of  a  horse's 
hair  and  some  like  osier  wands." 

"  Please,  what  is  the  Goose  Moon  and  the 
Planting  Moon?" 

"The  Goose  Moon  is  the  name  the  Red 
Brothers  gave  to  the  month  of  April,  when  the 
great  Wild  Geese  flocks  fly  northward ;  and  the 
Planting  Moon  is  May,  when  the  Red  Men 
planted  their  corn,  Mondamin  the  Zea  Maize,  that 
it  might  yield  good  harvest  e'er  the  Moon  of 
Falling  Leaves." 

"Where  do  the  baby  Eels  go,  and  what  do 
they  eat?" 

"  Everywhere  and  everything.  '  Go  up,'  whis- 
pers Heart  of  Nature,  '  always  up  ;  fill  the  lonely 
ponds  and  silent  watercourses.'  The  Eels  obey, 
and  sometimes  gliding  snakelike  overland  they 
enter  land-locked  ponds  and  springs.  Sometimes 
they  slip  up  the  straight  sides  of  rocks  that  hold 
back  mill-ponds,  and  so  enter  them.  Nothing 
can  stop  them  in  the  spring  when  Heart  of 
Nature  speaks. 

"  Three  years  it  takes  a  new-born  Eel  to  fully 
grow.  Then  when  the  ice  lies  thick,  or  when 


DR.   ANNE  65 

it  breaks  up  in  the  Moon  of  Snow  Blindness, 
Heart  of  Nature  calls  the  full-grown  Eels  that  he 
chooses  to  be  parents,  saying,  '  It  is  full  time  : 
go  down  to  the  sea  nurseries  ;  tarry  not,  but  go.' 

"  Then  the  chosen  ones  depart,  for  many  Eels, 
though  fully  grown,  remain  in  ponds  and  lakes, 
and  wax  exceeding  fat  and  old  in  idleness." 

"  Do  the  parent  Eels  come  back  again  with 
their  children  ?  " 

"  No,  never.  When  they  enter  the  sea  cham- 
bers they  are  forgotten  of  all,  save  Heart  of 
Nature." 

u  But  what  becomes  of  them  ?  Maybe  they 
turn  into  salt-water  Eels,"  persisted  Anne. 

"  If  you  would  learn  what  goes  on  in  those 
deep  sea  chambers,  ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician ; 
for  no  man  knows,  not  even  the  wisest,  if  these 
hold  nests  or  seaweed  cradles." 

"  I  wonder  why  some  things  are  always  secrets," 
mused  Anne. 

"There  are  two  worlds,  —  the  known  and  the 
unknown,"  whispered  Heart  of  Nature,  sweeping 
across  the  lowlands  with  Keewaydin,  who  was 
collecting  and  driving  before  him  the  sluggish, 
unhealthful  vapors.  "  The  eyes  of  the  seen  may 
not  fathom  all  the  lessons  of  the  unseen,  lest 
they  grow  too  far-sighted  and  too  keen,  and 


66  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

scorn  the  near-by  things.  If  one  mortal  was 
allowed  to  go  into  this  wonder  world  and  then 
return,  he  would  be  so  wise  he  could  outwit 
his  fellow-men,  and  thus  the  password  Brother- 
hood would  be  destroyed.  Those  who  wear  the 
Magic  Spectacles  may  always  see  the  farthest ; 
and  if  they  use  them  well,  as  they  grow  old  the 
glasses  clarify  and  change,  until  their  wearers 
may  see  even  the  first  and  greatest  Heart." 

The  Water  Spirits  stopped  singing  for  a  minute, 
and  the  rainbow  foam  hid  in  the  bridge  shelter 
and  grew  pale. 

Obi  hallooed,  and  Anne  looked  up  to  where  he 
stood  pointing  to  two  fine  Eels  that  lay  squirm- 
ing on  the  bank. 

"  A  minute  ago  it  did  seem  a  pity  to  stop  their 
spring  excursion ;  but  if  they  are  going  to  dis- 
appear as  soon  as  they  get  down  to  the  sea 
chambers,  we  might  just  as  well  have  them  for 
supper  as  not,"  argued  Anne  to  herself. 

"  You  wished  to  know  why  the  Shad  comes  up 
the  rivers  in  spring,"  continued  the  Water  Spirits. 

"Yes,  and  why  he  has  so  many  loose,  useless 
kind  of  bones,"  added  Anne. 

"  Heart  of  Nature  and  the  Plan  know  a  reason 
for  his  fashioning ;  but  we  may  only  tell  you  what 
the  Red  Brothers  say  about  his  coming. 


DR.    ANNE  67 

"  Long  ago,  —  so  long  that  many  of  the  great 
beasts  of  that  time  have  been  forgotten,  save 
for  their  earth-hidden  bones,  —  long,  long  ago, 
when  even  the  first  Red  Men  were  but  children 
living  houseless  and  clothesless  in  Nature's  wild 
garden,  hunger  came  among  these  people  living 
by  the  sea-ending  rivers  at  the  end  of  winter,  and 
they  besought  Gitche  Manito,  the  Great  Spirit, 
to  give  them  more  food. 

"  They  were  gathered  under  some  great  pine 
trees  by  a  river  bank,  at  the  season  when  warm 
rains  had  swelled  the  stream,  when  back  in  the 
woodland  they  heard  the  beating  of  Wabeno's 
drum. 

"  It  came  nearer  and  nearer ;  then  they  heard 
the  pattering  of  Wagoose's  feet  among  the  leaves. 
Then  the  shadow  of  the  Magician  passed  by  them 
to  the  water  and  rested  on  a  sandbar  amid  stream. 

" '  Watch,'  said  his  voice,  '  watch  while  I  make 
a  fish.'  Then  Wabeno  chose  a  forked  twig  for 
the  spine  and,  stooping,  seized  a  handful  of  pine 
needles,  which  he  fastened  to  it  for  ribs.  Then 
shaped  he  the  outside  cleverly  of  clay  until  a 
large  plump  fish  was  there.  Calling  Wagoose, 
he  bade  him  take  it  by  the  tail  and  lay  it  in  a 
shallow,  at  the  first  beat  of  his  drum. 

"  Then  the  Red  Brothers  heard  the  beating  and 


68  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

a  voice  said,  'This  is  my  gift,  my  brothers,  —  a 
fat  spring  fish.  Every  Goose  Moon  and  Planting 
Moon,  when  the  sun  warms  the  shallows  through, 
this  fish  and  all  her  race  shall  run  upward  from 
the  sea  to  seek  the  fresh  waters  of  her  birthplace. 
There  shall  the  eggs  be  laid,  and  then  again, 
before  ice  locks  chain  the  river  waters,  all  of  the 
tribe  shall  seek  the  warm  sea  chambers  and  there 
remain  unseen,  unharmed,  until  the  warm  spring 
currents  bear  to  them  anew  my  message,  —  Give 
you  good  fishing,  brothers.' 

"So  the  Shad  go  up  the  rivers  every  spring, 
and  lay  their  eggs,  seeking  their  birthplaces  even 
as  the  birds  who  turn  from  tropic  countries  to 
the  haunts  where  they  were  nested.  And  they 
still  carry  in  their  sweet  flesh  the  tiny  bones  that 
once  were  pine  needles." 

"I  wonder  if  that's  a  really  truly"  thought 
Anne,  and  then  said  aloud,  UI  can  believe  the 
pine  needle  part;  is  the  rest  true?" 

"Ah,"  laughed  the  Water  Spirits,  "the  Shad 
truly  come  up  the  river  every  spring  to  lay  their 
eggs  in  the  fresh  shallows,  and  truly  they  go  away 
before  ice  chills  the  water,  and  truly  their  bones 
are  as  pine  needles;  but  what  they  do  between 
the  coming  and  going  no  one  knows.  As  to  the 
rest  of  the  Shad's  making,  ask  Wabeno;  perchance 


DR.   ANNE  69 

he  will  bid  Wagoose  show  you  the  very  picture 
of  it  in  his  book,  for  there  it  lies." 

"  Anne  !  Halloo  !  Anne  !  "  called  Obi,  "  come  — 
here ! "  Anne  started,  and  saw  that  Obi  was 
looking  intently  at  something  that  seemed  to  be 
in  his  right  hand,  so  she  trudged  off,  going  behind 
the  alders  that  skirted  the  river  so  as  to  keep  out 
of  the  water. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  Where  did  that  blood 
come  from;  did  an  Eel  bite  you?"  she  asked  in 
one  breath. 

"  What  I  thought  might  chance  to  you  has 
happened  to  me.  That  last  Eel  fought,  and  I 
got  the  hook  in  my  hand  —  that's  all,"  said  Obi, 
trying  to  conceal  his  pain ;  "  so  instead  of  my 
having  to  cut  it  out  for  you,  you  will  have  to  get 
it  out  for  me." 

"Oh,  Obi,  won't  it  pull  out  without  cutting?" 
said  Anne,  shivering. 

"Nope,  the  little  ears  on  the  hook  that  are 
meant  to  catch  in  the  fish's  mouth  hold  on  to  my 
finger  the  same  way.  It's  got  to  be  cut,  and  the 
quicker  it's  done,  the  better  for  me ;  if  the  hook 
stiffens  in  there,  I'll  have  a  sore  hand." 

"Couldn't  we  go  down  to  the  Doctor's?" 

"He  went  up  the  mountain  road  right  after 
dinner,"  replied  Obi,  taking  his  knife  out  of  his 


70  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

pocket  with  his  left  hand,  and  opening  it.  "  If 
the  hook  was  only  in  my  left  hand  I  could  man- 
age by  myself.  I  didn't  think  you'd  be  so  silly 
about  a  little  blood.  When  you  chopped  your 
foot  with  the  little  axe,  and  stepped  on  the  scythe, 
and  stuck  in  the  Miller's  barbed-wire  fence  by  the 
hair,  and  got  pinched  by  the  fodder  cutter,  I 
always  helped  you,  anyway,"  said  Obi,  feeling 
hurt. 

"  I'm  not  a  bit  afraid  of  blood,"  said  Anne,  sud- 
denly stiffening  up  and  setting  her  teeth.  "  Which 
blade  is  the  sharpest?  The  little  one,  I  think. 
Wait  until  I  wipe  it,  'cause  you  know  everything 
must  be  very  clean,  so  as  not  to  poison  cuts  and 
bruises,  father  says." 

The  hook  was  buried  in  the  base  of  Obi's 
thumb,  and  it  would  take  at  least  two  cuts  to 
release  it,  he  explained. 

"When  I  say  'now,'  begin." 

Anne  took  a  firm  hold  and  never  faltered. 

"  Now,"  called  Obi,  shouting  as  if  Anne  were 
half  a  mile  away. 

Out  came  the  hook.  Obi  put  his  thumb  in 
his  mouth  while  Anne  dropped  the  knife,  and 
sopping  her  handkerchief  (which  was  fortunately 
quite  clean)  in  the  water,  brought  it  back  for  a 
bandage. 


DR.   ANNE  71 

Just  then  wheels  rattled  across  the  bridge  and 
there  was  the  Doctor  returning  from  the  moun- 
tain. The  wound  was  shown  and  everything 
explained. 

"  Famous !  three  cheers  for  Dr.  Anne !  I 
couldn't  have  done  it  better  myself." 

"  Won't  you  tie  it  up,  please  ?  We  didn't  have 
anything  to  put  on  it  but  suck  and  a  wet  hand- 
kerchief, though  of  course,  Waddles  can  cure 
all  his  hurts  with  suck  and  lick  and  no  handker- 
chief." 

The  Doctor,  who  was  as  dear  and  jolly  an  old 
fellow  as  ever  wore  a  soft  felt  hat  and  high  boots, 
and  spent  his  leisure  in  fishing,  opened  the  satchel 
that  always  went  driving  with  him  and  took  out 
a  pot  of  ointment,  a  wad  of  soft,  fluffy  cotton,  a 
neat  little  roll  of  bandage,  and  some  sticking-plas- 
ter wound  on  a  reel  like  tape,  and  in  a  trice  Obi's 
hand  was  trig  and  comfortable. 

"  I  wish  I  had  some  of  those  things  for  my  very 
own,"  said  Anne,  wistfully  ;  "  Tommy  and  I  seem 
to  be  scratched  up  very  often." 

"  You  shall  have  these  as  a  reward  for  doing  in- 
stead of  squealing.  See,  I'll  put  them  in  this  box, 
and  you  take  them  home  and  keep  them  handy. 
Only  remember  that  the  ointment  is  to  keep  poi- 
son out  of  cuts  —  but  is  not  good  to  eat. 


72 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


"  Jump  up  on  the  back  of  the  buckboard,  young- 
sters, and  I'll  drive  you  home.  I  think  you  would 
both  look  better  if  your  faces  were  washed." 

Then  Obi  and  Anne  began  to  laugh  at  each 
other,  for  they  were  smeared  like  veritable  Indians 
with  war  paint. 

Suddenly  the  Doctor  pulled  up  his  horse,  — 
"  Hear  the  frogs  peeping,"  he  exclaimed ;  "  a  sure 
sign  of  spring,  though  the  farmers  say  the  frost 
can  stop  them  three  times  before  it  goes  away. 
Ever  been  to  find  these  'peeps,' 
Dr.  Anne?  No?  It's  the  best 
time  now,  with  no  leaves  to  hide 
them ;  clever  little  fellows  those 
frogs,  heard  much  oftener 
than  seen,  for  they  can 
change  colour  when  they 
wish  to  hide. 

"  Hello,  what  have 
we  here  ?  Is 
that  Tommy's 


DR.    ANNE  73 

new  dog  ?  Whew  —  but  his  face  needs  washing 
too." 

They  looked  toward  the  meadow  bars  and  there 
was  Waddles  trotting  gayly  along,  a  trifle  only  of 
mud  on  his  feet,  while  behind  him  wearily  laboured 
Lumberlegs,  completely  pasted  with  slime  from 
nose  to  tail,  and  a  bite  on  one  ear,  but  wearing  a 
happy  expression  as  he  scrambled  through  the 
bars  and  laid  a  great  Muskrat  at  Anne's  feet,  as 
she  went  to  meet  him,  and  then  put  his  paw  on 
her  knee,  mud  and  all,  for  a  caress. 

"  Keo-keo — good  hunting  for  the  House  Four- 
foots,"  screamed  Zoah,  the  Hawk,  sailing  high 
over  the  meadow  again. 

"  Didn't  I  warn  you,  foolish  Wazhusk  ? " 
screamed  Tchin-dees. 

"  Lucky  it  wasn't  a  Scent  Cat,"  laughed  the 
Doctor.  "Waddles  seems  to  have  adopted  Lum- 
berlegs and,  mark  my  words,  he'll  put  him  up  to 
every  sort  of  mischief  that  it  takes  two  dogs  to 
do." 

"  Lumberlegs  will  help  me  clear  the  Wood- 
chucks  out  of  the  rocky  pasture  in  time,"  said 
Waddles,  solemnly,  to  Anne ;  "  but  as  you  say, 
missy,  these  young  animals  are  a  great  responsi- 
bility, and  may  often  cause  us  to  be  misjudged." 

"  Good-night,  '  Dr.  Anne,'  and  shake   hands," 


74  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

said  the  real  Doctor  as  he  stopped  at  Happy  Hall 
gate.  "  Put  a  fresh  bandage  and  cotton  on  your 
patient's  hand  to-morrow,  and  if  it  troubles  him, 
call  me  in  for  consultation." 

Anne  went  blissfully  into  the  house,  hugging 
her  precious  box,  while  Obi  led  Lumberlegs  to 
the  stable  to  have  the  mud  removed  by  the  car- 
riage hose.  As  for  Waddles,  he  simply  disap- 
peared, as  he  did  not  approve  of  water  except  for 
drinking  purposes. 


IV 


HE  March  moon  was 
at  the  full  before 
the  Pussy-willows 
and  Alder  catkins 
could    make    up  their  minds  to  be- 

lieve that  winter  had  really  gone,  and  trust  their 
plumes  to  Keewaydin's  rough  handling.  For  the 
clear  cold  Northwest  Wind  reigned  among  the 
gray  branches,  played  touch-about  with  Mudje- 
keeAvis  whenever  he  passed  by,  and  blustered  and 
scolded  at  such  a  rate  that  gentle  Shawondasee 
did  not  even  venture  to  whisper  for  days  together. 

75 


76  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

A  night  came,  however,  when  an  hour  before 
sunset  the  winds'  voices  had  altogether  ceased, 
a  mellow  glow  spread  over  the  slowly  greening 
lowlands  and  bare  hillsides,  Red-winged  Black- 
birds gave  their  juicy  call  from  afar,  Bluebirds 
were  about  the  barn,  many  Song-Sparrows  sang 
cheerfully  from  garden  and  roadside,  while  a 
very  plump  bright-breasted  Robin  actually  spied 
the  first  delicious  earthworm  of  the  season. 

"  Listen,  how  the  frogs  are  peeping  !  "  said 
Anne  to  Tommy,  as  they  walked  up  from  the 
barn  after  a  visit  to  some  very  new  fluffy 
chickens.  "  Don't  you  want  to  come  down  in 
the  meadows  and  see  if  we  can  find  some  of  the 
tiny  little  frogs  ?  The  Doctor  says  they  are  as 
cute  as  can  be." 

"  No,  I  don't  care  for  frogs,"  replied  Tommy, 
with  a  quiver  in  his  voice ;  "  I  care  for  dogs  and 
they — don't  —  like — me.  Father  said — he  said 
Lumbeiiegs  was  to  be  my  very  own,  to  play 
with  me  and  everything ;  but  he  isn't  mine 
one  bit  —  not  even  his  name.  You  and  Obi 
named  him  before  he  came,  and  it's  a  dreadful, 
horrid  name,  and  he  is  a  horrid  dog,  and  he  won't 
stay  with  me,  and  he's  too  big.  To-day  lie 
walked  on  my  new  soldiers  and  bent  all  their 
legs,  and  I  wish  father  would  send  him  away.  " 


THE   SIGNAL  77 

By  this  lime  the  tears  began  to  peep  out  of  the 
corners  oi  a  pair  of  very  big  brown  eyes. 

Anne  kmlt  down  by  Tommy  and  drew  him 
close  to  her,  for  she  did  not  know  exactly  what 
else  to  do.  What  he  said  was  perfectly  true, 
for  though  both  Waddles  and  Lumberlegs  treated 
Tommy  with  great  politeness,  they  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him. 

"  Come  with  me  and  look  for  frogs,  and  to- 
night I'll  ask  father  to  take  you  where  they 
sell  little  dogs  and  let  you  choose  one  for  your- 
self. But  I  don't  think  we  will  send  Lumber- 
legs  back  to  Miss  Jule,  because  he  was  a  present, 
and  it  isn't  polite  to  return  presents ;  besides, 
Waddles  has  adopted  him  for  his  child  and  is 
taking  great  pains  to  train  him. 

"  Won't  that  be  nice  to  have  a  little  dog,  just 
as  little  as  you  please?" 

"  Y-e-s,"  hesitated  Tommy,  blinking  back  his 
tears  ;  "  but  not  such  a  very  little  dog  either  — 
'bout  big  enough  to  kill  rats. 

"There  is  Baldy  going  down  the  road  to  the 
mill  to  bring  up  the  feed.  Please  help  me  call 
him,  Anne  ;  mother  said  I  might  ride  down  with 
him  and  buy  six  banty  eggs  of  the  Miller  to  set 
under  the  big  brown  hen,  and  I've  got  the 
money  sewed  into  my  pocket." 


78  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Baldy  !  B-a-1-d-y  !  "  The  horses  stepped  and 
Tommy  was  pulled  up  over  the  tailboard  and 
went  bumping  happily  down  the  road  in  the 
springless  box  wagon,  while  the  question  of  dogs 
was  forgotten  for  a  time. 

"Baldy  won't  be  back  for  at  least  an  hour, 
so  I  might  as  well  go  and  look  for  the  frogs  by 
myself,"  thought  Anne,  whistling  to  Waddles, 
who  was  taking  a  sun-bath  under  the  glass  of 
one  of  the  violet  frames,  and  came  out  looking 
very  guilty. 

"  Now,  Waddles,  aren't  you  ashamed  of  your- 
self," said  his  mistress,  severely,  "after  all  I've 
said  to  you  about  being  a  good  example  to 
Lumberlegs  ?  What  if  he  should  go  and  take 
a  nap  in  among  the  violets  or  new  lettuce,  and 
then  when  he  was  scolded  say,  '  Why  not,  I  saw 
Waddles  do  it?' 

"Where  is  Lumberlegs?  You  don't  know? 
Very  well,  I'll  excuse  you  this  time,  and  you 
may  come  down  to  the  old  spring  meadow  with 
me,  but  remember  no  sniffing  about  and  baying 
at  Rabbits.  I'm  looking  for  peeping  frogs,  and 
by  the  way  they  sound  I  should  think  there 
must  be  thousands  of  them." 

Waddles  trotted  solemnly  after  Anne,  looking 
over  his  shoulder  rather  nervously  from  time  to 


THE   SIGNAL  79 

time,  until  they  were  well  out  of  sight  of  the 
house. 

"  Sphee-phee-phee-sphee  !  "  chanted  the  chorus 
of  frogs,  directly  ahead  of  Anne,  where  bushes 
of  all  kinds  marked  the  bed  of  a  sluggish  water- 
course that  was  entirely  hidden  here  and  there 
by  mats  of  last  year's  cat-tail  flags. 

Anne  picked  her  way  carefully,  stepping  on 
sedge  tussocks  and  partly  decayed  logs,  stop- 
ping now  and  then  to  pick  an  especially  pretty 
wand  of  Pussy-willows.  She  slipped  once,  and 
trod  upon  something  that  crushed  with  a  crisp 
noise,  which  was  followed  by  a  most  disagreeable 
odor. 

"  Dearie  me,"  said  Anne  aloud,  "  I  wonder  if 
I've  trodden  on  a  bad  egg ;  but  how  did  it  come 
here?  No,  it  isn't  an  eggy  smell  either;  it's  more 
like  a  Scent  Cat." 

"  You  have  smashed  one  of  my  brothers,"  said  a 
voice  choking  with  anger.  As  Anne  hopped  to 
another  tussock  and  looked  down  she  saw  a 
curious  looking  plant  peering  up  from  the  wet 
leaf  mould.  A  thick  purple  and  green  mottled, 
pointed  hood  partly  hid,  not  a  queer  little  goblin 
face,  as  Anne  half  expected,  but  instead  enfolded 
a  thick  fleshy  spike,  powdered  here  and  there  with 
yellow  pollen.  Not  a  leaf  was  in  sight,  though 


80  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

some  tiny  green  rolls  were  piercing  the  ground, 
close  to  the  hood,  which  might  be  leaves  later  on. 

"I  suppose  you  must  be  a  plant,  thougli  I'm 
sure  I've  never  seen  you  before,"  said  Anne, 
apologetically ;  "  but  I've  never  been  down  here 
quite  so  early."  Then  after  stopping  to  think  a 
moment,  she  brightened  up  and  asked:  "Have  you 
anything  to  do  with  those  tufts  of  big  green  leaves 
that  I've  often  found  here  in  May,  and  later  they 
have  bunches  of  hard  berries?  Those  plants  do 
really  look  something  like  cabbages." 

"Jam  the  /lower;  those  green  tufts  are  the 
leaves,  and  the  berries  are  the  seeds.  A  very 
handsome  flower  I  am,  too,  don't  you  think,  even 
if  you  do  not  appreciate  my  perfume  ?  " 

"  You  —  are  so  far  down  in  the  ground  that  — 
that  —  I  can't  see  you  —  so  very  well,"  stammered 
Anne,  wishing  to  be  truthful,  and  at  the  same 
time  polite. 

"  May  I  pick  one  of  your  family  ?  I  see  that 
there  are  a  great  many  of  them  about  besides  the 
one  that  I  hurt." 

"  No,  you  may  not ;  we  are  not  to  be  handled 
and  made  into  bouquets  like  common  flowers  ;  we 
lose  our  attraction  when  we  leave  home.  We 
belong  to  a  very  exclusive  and  aristocratic  family; 
it  counts  among  its  members  the  hothouse  Calla 


THE   SIGNAL  81 

Lily  and  the  giant-leaved  Caladiuras  that  House 
People  are  proud  to  plant  in  beds  upon  their 
lawns.  Besides  these  there  are  other  brothers  of 
the  home  swamps,  —  the  pale  wild  Calla,  the  Golden 
Club,  and  the  Sweet  Flag.  Why,  that  pert  young 
fellow,  Jack-in-the-Pulpit,  is  my  very  first  cousin." 

"  How  interesting,"  said  Anne,  trying  to  re- 
member all  the  names ;  "  Jack-in-the-Pulpit  is  a 
great  friend  of  mine.  We  have  some  lovely 
Callas  in  the  study  window,  too,  and  I  can  see 
that  your  flowers  are  shaped  something  like  theirs. 
But  the  Calla  leaves  grow  first  and  then  the 
flowers,  while  your  flower  comes  up  first.  Why  is 
that?" 

"  Listen,  House  Child.  To  us  belongs  a  very 
great  honour.  We  open  the  Flower  Market ;  we 
are  the  very  first  blossoms  in  it ;  we  give  the  Bees 
messages  to  carry  and  something  to  pack  in  the 
seed-lunch  baskets  even  before  Pussy-willow  has 
offered  her  grains  of  precious  life  dust. 

"  To  be  first  in  the  Flower  Market  we  must  not 
waste  time  in  growing  leaves.  We  prepare  for  our 
blooming  far  back  in  the  old  year.  In  autumn, 
even,  our  flower  buds  are  fashioned  and  hidden 
down  beneath  the  ground.  This  purple  hood  is 
not  the  flower  ;  the  flowers  are  huddled  on  the 
fleshy  spike  within,  close  to  the  seed-iunch 


82  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

baskets.  Heart  of  Nature  made  the  hood  to 
keep  all  warm,  lest  Shawondasee  calls  out  of 
season,  and  we  peep  out  only  to  be  rebuked  by 
Kabibonokka. 

"  Heart  of  Nature  was  wise  ;  we  often  peep  out, 
lured  by  a  warm  winter  day,  and  Peboan  tramples 
us  down.  Sometimes  I  have  been  rash,  and  boldly 
pushed^  up  my  head  in  February,  but  it  was  useless 
— one  flower  cannot  make  a  market,  and  no  Butter- 
flies came  for  messages." 

"About  your  perfume,"  asked  Anne,  hesitat- 
ingly. "  Why  is  that  so  queer  —  I  mean  so  dif- 
ferent from  —  from  other  flowers,  and  have  you 
any  name  ?  " 

"  Our  perfume  truly  is  very  rare  and  strong 
It  is  made  so,  to  direct  the  early  Bees  and  insects 
to  us  without  loss  of  time.  The  Red  Brothers 
give  us  a  lovely  name,  Chi-kaug  Flower,  and  in 
the  wild  countries  the  big  bears  consider  us  a 
most  delicious  spring  salad." 

"  Wiry,  then,  your  plain  name  must  be  Skunk 
Cabbage,  and  you  are  the  flower  that  the  Milk- 
weed Monarch  told  me  about  years  ago,  for  Chi- 
kaug  was  the  Red  Brothers'  name  for  Skunk. 
The  Monarch  said  that  you  are  always  the  very 
first  flower  to  bloom."  As  the  Cabbage  did  not 
reply,  she  continued  rather  indiscreetly:  — 


THE  SIGNAL  83 

"  Some  very  early  flowers  have  beautiful  leaves 
and  a  lovely  perfume,  too.  The  Trailing  Arbutus 
up  on  Wild  Cat  Mountain,  for  instance,  and  the 
dear  little  blue  Hepaticas  in  my  woods  above  the 
orchard." 

"  Humph,  House  Child,  it  does  not  need  Magic 
Spectacles  to  see  that  those  are  last  year's 
leaves  that  you  are  speaking  of;  the  new  leaves 
follow  the  bloom  with  both  those  flowers.  The 
great  trees  like  Maples,  Elms,  Birches,  and  Wil- 
lows all  flower  before  their  leaves  come  out." 

"  I  don't  think  I've  noticed  any  real  flowers  on 
those  trees  —  only  sort  of  queer  looking  little 
tassels  and  things." 

"No  matter  how  a  thing  looks,  House  Child," 
said  the  Chi-kaug  Flower,  fiercely,  "  everything  is 
really  a  flower  that  has  a  seed-lunch  basket  and 
precious  dust  to  fill  it  with.  That  is  the  impor- 
tant part.  Heart  of  Nature  gave  flowers  pretty 
coloured  petals  and  perfume,  to  remind  the  Bees 
and  Butterflies  to  do  their  work  in  the  Flower 
Market.  I  wish  you  would  go  away ;  I'm  sure 
I  hear  a  Bee  buzzing,  though  those  horrid  little 
frogs  make  such  a  noise  that  I'm  nearly  deaf,  and 
if  you  are  here  the  Bee  will  surely  overlook  me." 

Anne  skipped  over  the  tussocks  almost  as 
quickly  as  a  frog  might,  and  then  called  Waddles, 


84  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

who  was  standing  on  three  legs  with  his 
tail  straight  out,  "  pointing  "  in  the  most 
approved  fashion. 

"  I  can  hear  the  frogs  everyivhere,  but 
the  question  is,  where 
are  they  ?     Can  you 
see  them, 
Waddle- 
kins?" 


"  I  smell  them   every- 
where, mistress  ;    but  as  they  hop 
instead  of  walk,  their  trails  are  mixed 
and  crooked." 

"Why  not  look  straight  in  front  of 
your  nose?"  piped  a  tiny  voice,  as  an 
alder  bush  brushed  Anne's  face.     There, 
to  be  sure,  almost  on  the  end,  perched 
a  wee  yellowish-brown  frog   not  more  than 
an  inch  long,  with  bulging  eyes  and  a 
quivering  throat. 

"Yes,  here  I  am,  though  most  of  my 
brothers  are  down  there  in  the  water 
with  only  enough  of  their  noses  out  to 


THE  SIGNAL  85 

keep  their  voices  from  drowning,"  said  the  frog, 
swelling  his  throat  like  a  balloon. 

"  Sphee-phee-phee-sphee,"  chirped  a  hundred 
little  voices. 

"  I'm  delighted  to  see  you,"  said  Anne,  cor- 
dially ;  "  are  you  one  of  Dahinda's  very  young 
children?  Do  you  know  I  haven't  seen  or  heard 
of  that  great  frog  since  last  summer  ;  where  did 
he  spend  the  winter  ?  " 

"  Dahinda,  the  Bull  Frog  ?  Oh,  he  stays  down 
in  the  mud  all  winter  as  we  do.  We  do  not 
belong  to  his  family,  however  ;  he  is  a  common 
Water  Frog,  —  a  lonely  sort  of  a  fellow,  —  while 
we  are  Tree  Frogs,  —  sociable  little  chaps,  and 
much  more  graceful.  We  have  suckers  on  the 
ends  of  our  fingers  and  toes  to  help  us  to  climb,  so 
we  can  walk  up  window-panes  even,  without  slip- 
ping. In  summer  we  may  leave  the  marshes  and 
go  travelling  about  the  trees  and  gardens,  wher- 
ever we  please.  Look  !  "  and  the  frog  held  out 
one  of  his  hands  so  that  Anne  could  see  the 
"  suckers "  that  looked  like  hollow  blisters  upon 
the  ends  of  his  webbed  fingers. 

"  What  do  you  think,  one  member  of  our  family 
that  lives  in  a  far-off  hot  country  has  such  big 
feet  that  he  uses  them  for  wings,  and  flies." 

"Really  truly?"  gasped  Anne. 


86  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Yes,  really  truly ;  you  see,  as  I  told  you,  we 
are  very  superior  frogs,"  —  and  the  pygmy  cleared 
his  throat  and  joined  the  chorus  for  a  moment, 
merely  to  prove  that  he  could. 

"  All  the  marsh  things  seem  to  be  very  proud  of 
themselves,"  thought  Anne,  but  she  only  said  :  — 

"What  is  your  name?  I  suppose  you  must 
have  one." 

"  Yes,  certainly  ;  my  name  is  Hyla  Pickering. 
Hyla  is  the  family  name,  but  when  Flowers, 
Beasts,  and  Birds  are  given  high  sounding  names, 
the  last  is  always  put  first.  I  have  a  cousin  who 
doesn't  begin  to  sing  so  early  in  the  spring,  and 
though  he  isn't  nearly  as  handsome  as  I  am,  what 
do  you  suppose  he  can  do?" 

"Jump  a  hundred  feet  at  once,"  guessed  Anne. 

"  No,  he  can  turn  any  colour  lie  pleases.  If  he 
sits  on  a  gray  mossy  stone,  he  can  look  gray  and 
mossy  ;  if  he  goes  on  a  fresh  green  plant,  he  turns 
green  ;  and  if  he  wishes  to  go  to  sleep  on  a  branch 
with  a  mottled  bark,  he  can  grow  mottled.  So 
his  name  is  Hyla  Change-colour." 

"  How  wonderful !  "  exclaimed  Anne,  forgetting 
where  she  was,  and  nearly  stepping  into  the  water. 

"  Heart  of  Nature  lets  him  do  this  so  that  his 
enemies  may  not  see  him,  also  that  he  may  catch 
his  own  food  unseen." 


THE   SIGNAL  87 

"  What  do  frogs  eat  ?  " 

"  All  kinds  of  meat  and  game  ;  we  like  animal 
food." 

"  Meat  ?     Game  ?  " 

"  Yes,  flies,  insects,  and  such  things ;  and  the  big 
water  frogs,  like  Dahinda,  eat  little  ducks  and 
lizards,  snakes,  mice  —  almost  everything.  In 
fact,  Dahinda  and  his  tribe  are  sometimes  canni- 
bal frogs. 

"  We  are  more  dainty,  and  when  we  come  up  to 
your  garden  in  summer,  or  you  hear  us  calling  for 
rain  in  the  trees  on  the  lawn,  you  needn't  be 
afraid  of  us  and  throw  stones  into  the  trees,  for 
we  only  do  good." 

"  I  thought  the  things  in  the  trees  were  Tree 
Toads.  Do  you  belong  to  the  Toad  Family  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed  ;  they  are  clumsy,  ugly  things,  with 
short  hind  legs ;  they  cannot  leap  as  we  do,  and 
their  hands  and  feet  are  not  made  webbed  for 
swimming.  Their  skins  are  thick  and  warty  and 
full  of  sour  juice ;  some  of  them  are  fine  singers 
though,  and  they  are  great  bug  catchers." 

"  Please,  Mr.  Hyla  Pickering,  won't  you  tell  me 
how  a  tree  frog  can  change  colour?  " 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  whispered  a 
voice  from  the  thin  mist  that  was  rising  from  the 
ground. 


88  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

There  was  no  wind,  and  for  a  moment  Anne  was 
puzzled. 

"  Ask  Wabeno.  Heart  of  Nature  may  not  tell 
House  People  all  the  secrets  of  his  garden;  lest 
they  grow  too  wise.  Go  up  out  of  the  lowlands, 
Anne  ;  the  evening  mists  are  only  good  for  Frogs, 
Will-o'-the-Wisp,  and  Jack-o'-Lantern." 

"  Oh  please,  stop  a  minute,  dear  Heart  of  Nature, 
and  tell  me  if  Wabeno  is  a  really  truly." 

"  Why  not  ask  Wabeno  himself?"  said  the  sil- 
very voice,  rippling  off  to  start  the  spring  planting 
in  the  garden  of  wood  and  wayside,  and  give  the 
Meadow-lark  the  key  for  the  first  notes  of  his 
spring  song. 

Waddles  had  walked  uphill  toward  the  light 
woods  by  the  old  barn,  stopping  every  few 
minutes  to  point.  Anne  followed  him,  looking 
carefully,  as  there  seemed  to  be  something  of  a 
commotion  going  on  in  among  the  trees.  Chip- 
munks and  Gray  and  Red  Squirrels  were  chatter- 
ing, Rabbits  hopped  and  scurried  everywhere.  A 
great  Crow  perched  on  a  dead  hickory  branch, 
talking  in  a  quavering  voice  to  some  Purple 
Grackles  and  Red-winged  Blackbirds,  and  a  beau- 
tiful Ruffed  Grouse  stood  erect  upon  a  stump,  his 
feet  braced  firmly  and  his  wing  raised. 

"  What   can  be   going   on  ? "   said   Anne,  half 


THE   SIGNAL  89 

aloud.  "  It  will  be  full  moon  to-night,  I  heard 
father  say,  and  I  wonder  if  there  is  to  be  a  spring 
Forest  Circus.  If  there  is,  I  can't  see  it,  because 
little  Oo-oo,  the  Screech  Owl,  said  a  House  Per- 
son can  never  go^to  this  Circus  but  once." 

"Mistress,"  whispered  Waddles,  "don't  you  see 
those  lovely  Rabbits?  I  haven't  had  a  good  run 
since  before  the  great  snow,  —  mayn't  I  take  one 
now?"  and  Waddles  gave  a  little  bay  of  sup- 
pressed emotion. 

"  Hush  !  yes,  run  anywhere  you  like,  away  from 
here.  There  goes  a  big  Rabbit  downhill,"  said 
Anne,  well  knowing  that  Bunnie  would  have  a 
perfectly  safe  start  of  the  hound. 

"  What  is  all  this  about ;  is  there  to  be  a  party 
here?"  asked  Anne  of  Adjidaumo,  the  Red  Squir- 
rel, who  kept  dropping  hickory-nut  shells  on  her 
head. 

"  It's  the  first  event  of  the  year  for  the  Bird, 
Beast,  and  Flower  Brothers,"  explained  Adjidau- 
mo, stopping  to  turn  a  nut  in  his  paws  as  his  teeth 
sought  the  best  spot  for  gnawing. 

"  Yes,"  said  Anne,  eagerly  ;  "  what  is  it  called, 
and  what  happens  ?  " 

"It's  called  the  Gathering  of  the  Clans,  and 
the  Ruffed  Grouse  gives  the  Spring  Signal," 
whispered  the  Squirrel. 


90  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  This  is  the  first  night  since  the  Brush  Bea- 
cons burned  that  the  Brotherhood  of  Beasts 
have  all  been  awake  and  keen  for  hunting ;  and 
though  there  are  few  birds  as  yet,  there  are 
enough  to  make  the  meeting  legal." 

"  Legal !  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  House  Child,"  said  Heart  of  Nature's  voice, 
"do  you  know  what  day  this  is?" 

"It's  the  twenty-first  of  March,"  said  Anne, 
promptly,  "  and  the  slip  on  mother's  Wordsworth 
calendar  said,  — 

" '  Like  an  army  defeated 
The  snow  hath  retreated,' 

and  it  has." 

"Yes,  the  twenty-first  of  March,  the  Vernal 
Equinox.  According  to  the  Plan,  on  this  day  my 
earth  garden  locks  the  back  door  on  winter  and 
opens  the  front  door  to  welcome  spring.  Alas,  in 
some  parts  of  my  garden  she  gets  but  a  cold 
greeting.  Still  the  Wild  Clans  remember,  and 
at  least  a  Beast,  a  Bird,  a  Flower,  always  answer 
my  call." 

Just  then  there  was  a  great  fluttering  among 
the  birds.  There  were  any  number  of  Robins 
and  Bluebirds,  Meadow-larks  and  Grackles,  con- 
stantly arriving,  and  chattering  to  those  who 
had  stayed  about  all  winter.  A  fine  pair  of 


THE  SIGNAL  91 

Hawks  held  themselves  rather  aloof,  while 
Little  Oo-oo  blinked  solemnly  from  his  home 
tree-hole.  Bob- white  ran  out  from  the  leaves, 
but  without  whistling,  and  Anne  could  see  the 
forms  of  many  of  the  Brush  Beacon  Beasts 
crouching  behind  rocks  and  trees.  Small  Wood- 
peckers tapped,  Chickadees  whistled,  and  the  big 
Flicker  laughed  so  loud  that  the  Rabbits  turned 
somersaults  downhill  in  fright.  Evidently  they 
were  all  waiting  for  some  one. 

"  Phee-bee,-phee-bee-a,"  called  a  faint  voice. 
Instantly  every  animal  was  alert.  "  Phee-bee,- 
phee-bee-a,"  sounded  again  clearly  overhead, 
and  in  dashed  a  little  brown  Phoebe  Bird,  out 
of  breath,  but  otherwise  quite  well. 

"Now  by  this  sign  the  Clans  declare  the  gar- 
dens, the  woods,  and  the  fields  are  ready  to 
greet  Spring.  Listen  to  the  Signal  !  "  called 
the  Ruffed  Grouse,  making  a  rapid,  continuous 
drumming  noise  in  some  mysterious  manner 
with  his  wings. 

"  How  did  he  do  that  ?  I  was  looking  right 
at  him  and  I  can't  tell,"  said  Anne,  turning  to 
Little  Oo-oo,  who,  from  not  having  much  to 
say,  was  thought  to  be  very  wise. 

"How?  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  for  he 
has  lent  Ruffle  the  very  sound  of  his  own  drum." 


92  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"Why  do  they  think  so  much  of  the  Phoebe, 
Oo-oo?  It  isn't  a  rare  bird." 

"It  is  an  insect  eater,  the  first  fly-catcher  to 
leave  the  Winter  Birdland,"  said  Heart  of 
Nature.  "  When  it  comes,  we  know  that  insect 
wings  are  humming.  The  Phoebe,  the  Chip- 
munk, and  the  Pussy-willow  are  my  pledges  to 
my  people ;  not  until  the  Clans  see  these  will 
they  believe  that  winter  is  over." 

Anne  edged  herself  along  nearer  to  the  Ruffle, 
the  Grouse,  who,  to  her  great  surprise,  seemed 
to  know  her  and  began  to  chat  pleasantly. 

"  I  don't  remember  having  met  you  before," 
Anne  said. 

"  Oh  yes,  you  have,  but  you  probably  did  not 
recognize  me,  because  that  day  I  was  in  distress ; 
my  coat  was  all  awry  and  I  was  lame  and  nearly 
frozen." 

"  Are  you  the  poor  bird  that  Obi  found  frozen 
to  the  snow,  and  that  we  took  down  to  Miss 
Jule?  I  often  wondered  if  you  felt  quite  right 
again,  and  where  you  went." 

"  The  very  same,  and  if  you'll  come  up  beyond 
the  old  barn  sometime  in  May  I  will  show  you 
my  mate  and  family." 

"  Where  is  your  mate  now  ?  " 

"  Oh,  somewhere   about,  waiting  to  be  called, 


THE   SIGNAL  93 

when  I  am  ready  for  housekeeping.  It  is  the 
rule  in  our  family  that  females  never  speak  until 
they  are  spoken  to." 

"  How  can  you  call  her  ?  I  didn't  know  a 
Grouse  could  sing." 

"  I  drum  for  her,  as  you  heard  me  drum  just 
now  to  proclaim  it  spring.  We  game  birds  love 
martial  music  better  than  vocal;  so  I  play  the 
drum,  while  Bob-white  prefers  the  fife,  and 
friend  Woodcock,  who  I  see  has  just  arrived 
and  is  probing  for  worms  over  there  near  the 
'spring,  has  a  little  instrument  of  his  own,  half 
fife  and  half  flute,  to  which  he  dances." 

"  What  became  of  Ko-ko-ko-ho  after  the  storm  ? 
Did  he  find  his  wife,  and  did  his  wing  grow 
strong  again?" 

"  His  wing  was  soon  cured,  but  he  is  banished, 
and  I  am  to  announce  it  to  the  Clan  to-night 
before  the  trial. 

"  After  Crotalus,  the  Bad  One,  died,  the  Beast 
and  Bird  Brotherhood  lived  quite  happily  here- 
about for  several  years.  Then  complaints  began 
to  pour  in  about  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ko-ko-ko-ho. 
They  took  two  of  my  children  last  spring,  and 
five  of  Bob-white's  covey.  Mother  Rabbit  lost 
more  children,  she  said,  than  she  could  count  ; 
but  as  she  always  has  more  than  she  can  take 


94  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

care  of,  and  tries  to  board  them  free  in  her 
neighbours'  gardens,  we  did  not  care  much  about 
her  complaint. 

"  Some  time  ago  the  Ko-ko-ko-hos  grew  bold, 
as  you  know,  and  took  the  Miller's  pigeons; 
but  when  they  finally  went  down  and  robbed 
Miss  Jule,  our  friend,  we  said  they  must  be 
banished.  Then  those  of  us  who  live  hereabout 
all  winter  held  a  private  council  and  gave  Reddy 
Fox  charge  of  getting  the  pair  away. 

"When  Ko-ko-ko-ho  was  hurt,  the  Fox  imi- 
tated his  note  as  best  he  could  and  led  Mrs. 
Ko-ko-ko-ho  a  dance,  off  beyond  Wild  Cat  Moun- 
tain, for  she  was  the  ugliest  one  to  deal  with. 
Then,  after  Ko-ko-ko-ho  recovered,  Reddy  told 
him  where  his  wife  had  gone,  and  he  went  too. 
So  now  they  live  in  Rufus  Lynx's  own  woods, 
and  if  they  do  not  earn  an  honest  living  there, 
Rufus  Lynx  has  promised  to  execute  them. 
And  he  never  breaks  his  word!" 

"Who  is  going  to  be  tried,  and  what  are  all 
those  Crows  making  such  a  time  about  down  in 
the  old  cornfield  ?  " 

"  The  Crows  are  to  have  a  hearing.  Last  year, 
at  the  anniversary  of  Cock  Robin's  funeral,  there 
were  many  complaints  lodged  against  them  as 
nest  robbers,  and  the  smaller  birds  that  build 


THE  CROW'S  COMPLAINT 


THE  SIGNAL  95 

in  gardens  and  orchard  trees  wish  all  Crows  to 
be  banished  to  the  wild  fields  beyond  the  moun- 
tain." 

"  Why  don't  they  come  up  to  be  heard  then  ?  " 
asked  Anne. 

"  They  are  too  cowardly ;  that  is  one  reason 
why  the  Rulers  of  Birdland  despise  them  so. 
They  are  almost  the  only  birds  who  will  leave 
their  young  in  times  of  danger.  Then,  too, 
they  sneak  about  and  lie  so.  Only  think,  to- 
day they  have  sent  a  poor  old  Crow,  who  had 
one  eye  frozen  in  the  storm,  to  plead  for  them, 
instead  of  coming  up  in  a  body  themselves." 

"  Hush !  the  hearing  is  to  begin,"  called  little 
Oo-oo,  circling  about,  as  the  old  crow  hopped 
feebly  to  a  stump  and  cleared  his  throat. 

"  I  am  Kaw  Ondaig,  the  lame-winged  Crow 
from  the  Cedar  Swamp.  I  have  been  lame- 
winged  for  many  years,  but  now  I'm  one-eyed 
also.  In  the  great  storm,  I  was  too  slow  to  fly 
into  the  warm  shelter  of  the  old  barn  like  the 
other  birds,  and  besides,  I  feared  it  was  a  trap, 
so  one  of  my  eyeballs  froze,  and  in  thawing, 
burst,  and  I  am  half  blind. 

"  You  say  my  tribe  are  cowards.  It  is  too 
true,  but  those  who  are  always  chased  always 
tun,  so  it  comes  by  inheritance.  Look  at  the 


96  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

Rabbit  Family.  It  is  the  same  with  them." 
(At  the  word  "  Rabbit,"  all  the  bunnies  dodged 
into  their  holes.) 

"  You  say  we  are  cannibals.  We  are  some- 
times, but  only  in  the  nesting  season,  when  we 
crave  fresh  meat  for  our  young.  YOU  say  that 
we  are  ugly,  croaking  things,  dismal  to  look  at. 
So  we  are,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  be  cheerful  and 
pretty  when  a  black  dress  is  all  that  is  allowed 
us  the  year  through. 

"  As  for  singing,  we  have  voices  and  sing  among 
ourselves,  yet  others  do  not  understand  our  songs. 
When  we  think  we  are  singing  like  Thrushes,  it  is 
called  croaking." 

"  I  wonder  how  that  can  be  ?  "  queried  Anne, 
aloud. 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  answered  Ondaig; 
"  Kaw-kaw,  the  Raven,  rides  upon  his  shoulder 
and  whispers  in  his  ear.  Kaw-kaw  is  jealous  of 
us,  so  ask  Wabeno. 

"  May  I  sing  you  one  song  in  behalf  of  my  poor 
tribe  before  they  are  condemned?"  continued 
Ondaig. 

The  Clan  had  decided  what  they  meant  to  do, 
but  they  gave  Ondaig  leave  to  sing,  out  of  pity 
to  his  misfortunes. 

When  he  finished  his  quavering  song,  some  o£ 


THE   SIGNAL  97 

the  birds  seemed  quite  affected,  and  after  a  little 
consultation  the  Grouse  drummed  once  more  for 
order,  and  announced  :  — 

"  This  is  our  decision.  As  Crows  are  cannibals 
and  nuisances  in  the  nesting  and  planting  seasons, 
though  rather  harmless  the  rest  of  the  year,  we 
decree  that  those  who  wish  to  build  nests  must  go 
to  the  other  side  of  Wild  Cat  Mountain  and  stay 
until  their  cannibal  season  is  over,  while  any  others 
may  remain  here,  if  they  will  never  even  roost  in 
a  tree  where  there  is  a  bird's  nest !  Moreover,  the 
penalty  for  remaining  here  after  to-day  is  to  be 
chased  by  House  People,  Hawks,  and  Kingbirds ! " 

Ondaig  flew  off  to  carry  the  decree  to  his  tribe, 
who  were  so  angry  that  they  all  flew  to  beating 
him  as  if  he  were  to  blame.  In  fact,  the  poor 
Crow  would  probably  have  lost  his  remaining  eye 
if  it  had  not  been  for  Zoah,  the  Red-tailed  Hawk, 
who  swooped  down  and  dispersed  the  crowd,  which 
clattered  off,  leaving  Kaw  Ondaig  and  another 
cripple  behind,  as  the  only  two  who  did  not  wish 
to  build  nests. 

"  Go  down  to  Miss  Jule's  and  she  will  let  you 
live  about  the  barns,"  called  Anne  ;  so  the  two 
old  bachelor  Crows  flopped  off,  and  any  day  you 
may  see  them  walking  contentedly  in  and  out  of 
•  the  granary  at  the  Horse  Farm. 


98 


WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 


The  sun  was  almost  setting 
srr,       when    Anne    remem- 
bered  Waddles.      He 
was    returning    from    his    chase 
with    something    fluffy    in    his 
mouth,  which,  a  moment  after,  he- 
laid  at  Anne's  feet. 

"That  is  all  of  the  Rabbit  I 
could  bring  you,  missy ;  I  didn't 
eat  a  scrap,  —  it  ran  so  fast,"  he 
panted. 

Anne  picked  up  the  bit  of  fur  ;  it 
was  poor  Bunnie's  white-lined  tail. 
"Oh,   Waddles,   for 
shame  !      how      could 
you  ?  "    scolded  Anne, 
stamping  her  foot.  "  It 
isn't  fair  hunting  man- 
ners to  bite  tails  off." 

"1  didn't  bite  it, 
missy;  I  only  tried 
to  persuade  the 


THE   SIGNAL  99 

Rabbit  backward  out  of  his  hole  by  it,  and  the 
tail  moulted  right  off,  the  way  the  rooster's  tail 
did,  when  you  caught  him  last  summer." 

"  Oh,  Waddlekins,"  laughed  Anne,  shaking 
her  finger  at  him,  "you  are  growing  young  and 
sly  again,  and  I  don't  half  think  you  are  a  proper 
person  to  have  adopted  Lumberlegs." 

As  they  left  the  wood  with  the  setting  sun 
behind  them  and  turned  toward  Happy  Hall,  the 
great  silvery  moon  was  rolling  its  disk  above  the 
opposite  end  of  the  road. 

"  There  is  the  moon  before  sunset  and  as  large 
as  life,"  said  Anne  ;  "  yet  it  doesn't  look  like  any- 
thing while  the  sun  is  about.  I  wonder  —  if 
there  ever  was  a  man-in-the-moon  and  if  there  are 
any  people  there  now  ?  " 

"  Hush,  don't  speak  to  me  now,"  said  a  faint 
voice  slipping  down  the  moonbeams.  "Day  is 
not  my  time  for  answering  questions.  I'm  not 
allowed  to  speak  while  the  sun  is  up,  but  if  you 
will  leave  your  blind  up,  I'm  due  round  by  your 
window  by  eight  o'clock,  and  then  I  may  stop  a 
bit  and  chat.  The  night  is  my  day,  so  the  Red 
Brothers  called  me  Dibik  Gheezis,  the  night  sun. 

"  Anne,  oh,  Anne  !  "  called  Tommy,  who  was 
dancing  excitedly  about  the  walk  at  the  top  of  the 


100  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

garden.  His  father  stood  looking  at  something 
near  the  ground  with  a  puzzled  expression,  and 
Obi  was  leading  Lumberlegs  off  toward  the  barn. 

"  What  do  you  fink,  but  Lumberlegs  did  bury 
his  dinner  bone  in  the  lettuce  bed  and  then  went 
to  sleep  by  it  to  watch  it,  all  the  afternoon,  and  all 
the  baby  plants  that  aren't  dug  up  are  stwashed." 

"Waddles,  you  must  have  known  this,"  said 
Anne.  "  Go  down  and  stay  with  Lumberlegs  in 
the  barn  to-night." 

Waddles  went,  but  he  did  not  stay. 


SSJNNE  found  some  difficulty  in  keeping 
her  appointment  with  the  moon  that  evening.  In 
the  first  place  Tommy  begged  that  she  would  put 
him  to  bed  and  "make  him  a  story."  It  took  a 
long  time  to  tell  about  the  frogs  and  the  rabbit 
tail,  and  Tommy  grew  so  excited  about  the  latter 
that  he  tried  to  make  Anne  promise  to  find  the 
poor  hurt  Bunnie  next  day  and  fasten  its  tail  on 
again,  with  some  of  the  rubber  sticking-plaster 
the  Doctor  had  given  her. 

Then  when  Anne  finally  reached  her  room  her 
mother  came  up  for  a  bedtime  talk,  and  so  it  was 
half-past  eight  before  the  lamp  was  put  out  and 
she  pulled  up  the  shade  to  let  in  the  moonlight. 

101 


102  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

By  this  time  the  Moon  had  passed  the  farther 
window  and  was  peeping  in  at  the  one  nearest 
her  bed. 

"  You  had  better  go  into  bed  and  be  quite  com- 
fortable," said  the  voice  that  came  down  the 
moonbeams  ;  "my  story  is  rather  a  long  one  and 
you  will  be  cold  sitting  there  on  the  floor,  for  my 
rays  cannot  give  you  warmth  as  the  sun's  do." 
The  voice  was  perfectly  distinct,  and  yet  it 
sounded  very  far  off  and  cool,  like  wind  that  had 
blown  over  an  icy  mountain. 

"  It's  very  strange,"  thought  Anne,  "  that  I  can 
understand  what  the  Moon  says.  It  isn't  a 
near-by  thing,  it  doesn't  belong  to  the  Flower 
Market  or  the  Brotherhood  of  Beasts  or  Birds, 
and  it  certainly  doesn't  do  any  work  for  Heart  of 
Nature.  I  wonder  to  what  family  it  belongs  ? " 

"The  Winds  of  Night,  the  Winds  of  Night, 
who  has  work  for  us,"  whispered  the  familiar 
voices  in  the  chimney,  and,  as  if  at  their  call,  a 
flock  of  gray  silver-edged  clouds  trooped  past  the 
moon,  casting  shadows  on  the  floor. 

"  Mudjekeewis,  is  that  you  ?  You  who  go 
everywhere  and  fly  far  above  the  earth  when  you 
drive  your  cloud  horses,  have  you  ever  been  to 
the  Moon  ?  Perhaps  you  keep  your  chariots 
there." 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  MOON  103 

"  I  never  go  so  far  from  this  earth  garden, 
House  Child  ;  round  and  round  we  winds  go, 
over  oceans  and  plains,  over  mountain  tops  that 
are  almost  buried  in  the  sky  ;  but  the  Plan  directs 
that  we  never  leave  the  earth  altogether,  lest  we 
lose  ourselves  in  the  great  unknown,  that  House 
People  call  space." 

"  What  are  you  and  the  other  winds  made  of, 
Mudjekeewis  ?  I  can  feel  your  touch  and  see  the 
work  you  have  done,  and  yet  I  have  never  really 
seen  you  yourselves." 

"  We  winds  are  merely  the  air  in  a  hurry,  — 
the  air  that  is  the  breath  of  the  warm-hearted 
earth  and  clings  about  her  so  that  in  their  turn 
the  Brotherhoods  of  Flower,  Bird,  and  Beast  may 
breathe  it,  and  so  live.  When  this  breath  of  life 
is  quiet,  it  is  called  air.  House  People  say, '  Open 
the  window  and  let  in  the  air  ; '  but  when  the  air 
is  restless,  in  a  hurry,  and  rushes  along,  they  say, 
4  The  wind  is  blowing.'  Look  up  at  those  clouds 
that  graze  like  sheep  far  off  in  the  sky  pasture. 
See,  ice  crystals  hang  to  their  fleece ;  it  is  the 
North  Wind  that  drives  them  along." 

"  House  Child,"  interrupted  the  Moon,  "  do  not 
give  ear  to  the  idle  words  of  the  winds,  for  they 
have  no  beginning  and  no  end ;  when  one  brother 
sleeps  the  other  wakens.  The  day  of  Dibik 


104  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

Gheezis,  the  Night  Sun,  is  brief,  and  Weeng,  the 
Sleep  Spirit,  is  ever  wrestling  with  him  for  pos- 
session of  it.  Ask  what  you  wish  to  know 
quickly,  lest  Weeng  touches  your  eyelids  with  his 
fingers." 

"  I'd  like  very  much  to  know  exactly  what  you 
are,  and  —  and  —  and  all  the  whys — everything 
about  you  —  and  if  there  are  any  people  living  on 
you?" 

"If  you  wish  to  know  who  I  am,  it  is  easily 
told  —  more  easily  than  what  I  was,  for  that  is  a 
mystery.  I  am  a  thing  of  the  past,  a  back  num- 
ber. A  desolate,  worn-out,  cold-hearted  sort  of 
an  earth,  destitute  of  everything.  I  am  out  of 
heat,  water,  air,  and  people. 

"I'm  not  even  the  Moon,  as  people  on  your 
Earth  call  me,  but  only  a  moon  dancing  attendance 
on  my  little  earth  as  many  other  moons  escort 
their  earths  here  in  Skyland,  in  the  endless  race 
around  the  Sun.  I  have  always  been  accustomed 
to  playing  second  fiddle  to  the  Earth,  so  of  course 
I'm  used  to  it ;  but  I  do  think  I  deserve  to  have  a 
better  fate  than  to  have  wash  day  named  after 
me." 

"Washday!     How?" 

"Moonday,  or  Monday,  as  you  House  People 
will  spell  it,  taking  advantage  of  my  helpless  con- 


THE   MAN  OF   THE   MOON  105 

dition  not  only  to  name  a  sloppy  day  for  me,  but 
then  to  leave  a  letter  out." 

"  Do  you  belong  to  a  Brotherhood  or  Guild,  or 
are  you  all  alone  by  yourself  ?  " 

"Nothing  is  by  or  for  itself,  and  there  is  no 
loneliness  in  the  Plan  when  it  is  undisturbed  by 
cross-purposes,"  whispered  Heart  of  Nature.  In 
Skyland,  where  the  earths  and  moons  live,  there 
are  many  families,  each  obeying  the  rules  of 
a  particular  household. 

"  This  earth  where  I  have  my  garden  and  that 
moon  that  seems  so  far  off,  as  well  as  many  other 
earths  and  moons,  belong  to  the  household  of  the 
Sun.  ,  He  rules  them  all  according  to  the  Plan, 
gives  them  light  and  heat,  sets  them  a  path  in 
which  to  walk  about  the  sky.  The  Sun  is  king 
over  them,  under  the  Plan,  and  watches  always, 
keeping  his  compelling  eye  on  every  member  of 
his  family,  holding  each  to  its  own  pathway." 

Anne  crept  slowly  toward  her  bed,  after  raising 
the  window  shade  as  high  as  it  would  go,  and 
pushing  back  the  curtains  as  far  as  possible,  she 
fixed  herself  comfortably  where  she  could  look  the 
Moon  full  in  the  face. 

"  Now  please,  Mooney  dear,  tell  me  everything 
you  can,"  she  said,  clasping  her  hands  above  her 
head.  "  But  I  wish  you  wouldn't  move  so  fast;  I'm 


106  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

afraid  you  will  go  past  the  window  before  we 
are  half  through  talking.  Can't  you  ever  be 
still?" 

"  That  would  be  breaking  Rule  No.  1  in  Sky- 
land,  which  is  '  keep  moving.'' ': 

"  What  if  you  don't  ?  " 

"  Then  you  fall  up  out  of  sight." 

"  Fall  up !     I  never  heard  of  falling  up. " 

"  It  all  depends  upon  where  you  are  standing  ; 
up  from  one  place  is  down  from  another." 

"  But,"  said  Anne,  not  feeling  able  to  argue 
with  the  Moon,  "  when  one  of  you  fall,  where  do 
youfallta?" 

"  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  for  no  one  who 
has  fallen  through  space  has  ever  come  back  to 
give  me  an  account  of  his  journey,"  said  the  Moon, 
blinking  solemnly  as  a  procession  of  cloud  Ele- 
phants, Camels,  and  Buffaloes,  chased  by  a  great 
Dragon,  passed  before  its  face. 

"  What  is  the  next  rule  in  Skyland  ? "  asked 
Anne. 

"  ''Follow  your  leader. ,'  "  replied  the  Moon, 
promptly.  "  That  is  why  I  am  always  running 
round  and  round  the  Earth  and  the  Earth  is  all 
the  time  tramping  round  the  Sun." 

"  Why  don't  you  go  round  the  Sun  by  yourself 
and  let  the  Earth  alone  ?  " 


THE   MAN   OF   THE   MOON  107 

"  Moons  are  only  second-class  sort  of  things, 
you  see,  and  they  have  to  serve  two  rulers  and 
turn  three  ways  at  once.  On  their  own  axles, 
round  their  leaders,  and  along  with  them  at  the 
same  time,  while  the  Earth  only  turns  on  its  own 
axle  and  rolls  along  its  path  around  the  Sun." 

"  Axle!  why,  that  is  the  bar  a  wagon  wheel  turns 
on  !  I  didn't  know  earths  and  moons  had  axles." 

"  House  People  use  another  word,  axis,  and  ex- 
plain about  its  being  an  imaginary  line." 

"  I  suppose  they  call  it  imaginary  because  they 
can't  see  it ;  most  people  say  that  of  things  they 
can't  see,"  said  Anne,  "for  you  know,  Mooney 
dear,  if  it  was  a  real  axle  there  would  have  to  be 
ends  to  it  sticking  out  somewhere." 

"And  so  there  are  ends,  to  be  sure,  though 
House  People  will  say  it  is  all  stuff  and  nonsense! 
What  else  are  the  North  and  South  Poles  ?  " 

"Of  course,  I  never  thought  of  that  ;  but 
why  doesn't  some  one  find  them,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"  Some  one  is  always  trying  to,  but  suppose 
somebody  did  find  them,  meddled  or  tried  to 
dig  them  up  and  take  them  to  a  museum  or  sell 
them  for  relics  ?  Suppose  some  one  bent  them  and 
sent  the  earth  switching  off  the  track  right  into 
the  Sun,  or  maybe  against  me,  to  crack  my  crown  ? 

"  A  pretty  mess  there  would  be,  to  be  sure  ! 


108  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

No,  when  any  one  gets  rather  near  to  where  the 
north  end  of  that  axle  is  buried,  Wabeno  beats  his 
drum,  Wabasso,  the  White  Rabbit,  leaps  from 
his  snowy  form  and  wakes  Peboan,  and  quickly 
they  bury  every  bit  of  food.  Then  Kabibonokka 
rushes  by,  and  together  they  go  to  rivet  icy  fetters 
around  all  the  passages  to  that  axle's  end.  So  he 
who  really  finds  it  must  have  outwitted  Winter, 
the  Ice  King,  the  North  Wind  in  his  own  for- 
tress, Famine,  and  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 

"  They  aren't  outwitted  yet,  that's  very  certain," 
said  Anne,  with  a  sigh  of  relief  that  there  was  no 
immediate  danger  of  the  earth's  running  off  the 
track  from  a  bent  axle.  "Now  please  tell  me 
how  you  came  to  be  a  second-class  affair,  and  if 
all  the  stars  go  about  as  you  do." 

"The  Sun  is  the  only  star  in  the  particular 
family  of  Skyland  to  which  my  earth  and  I  be- 
long. The  other  Suns,  that  House  People  call 
stars,  are  so  far  away  in  other  sky  countries  that 
they  seem  very  small,  though  they  may  really 
be  bigger  than  our  own  Sun,  I've  heard  it  said, 
and  you  must  know  one  hears  a  great  many  tales 
going  to  and  fro  in  Skyland  during  a  life  as  long 
as  mine." 

"Do  all  those  far-away  Suns  have  families  to 
rule  the  same  as  our  Sun?" 


THE   MAN   OF  THE   MOON  109 

"I  don't  know,"  said  the  Moon,  hesitating  a 
moment ;  "  I've  never  inquired  and  I've  never 
looked;  we  may  not  gape  and  stare,  for  the 
third  rule  in  Skyland  is  '  eyes  front,'  for  if  one 
of  us  fell  out  of  step  the  whole  procession  might 
be  boggled  up  and  we  would  all  go  flying  about 
hither  and  thither  like  those  homeless  gas  bags 
of  comets  with  the  fiery  tails,  that  make  us  stay- 
at-home  bodies  so  nervous  when  they  come  prowl- 
ing about." 

"  Won't  you  please  go  back  to  the  beginning  ?  " 
prompted  Anne. 

"To  the  beginning?  To  the  time  when  this 
earth  and  the  other  planets  were  like  fiery  eggs 
given  off  by  their  Sun  parent?" 

"That  will  do,  if  you  don't  remember  any 
further;  but  I'd  rather  you  would  begin  with 
only  the  Sun." 

"  Well  then,  there  was  that  great  ball  of  light 
and  heat  that  you  call  the  Sun,  and  the  First  Heart 
made  the  Plan  to  have  a  colony  of  planets  about  it. 

"  Now  the  Sun  is  not  all  pure  liquid  fire,  as  it 
seems  to  be.  In  the  very  inside  there  is  a  solid 
dark  core  surrounded  by  the  blazing,  burning 
atmosphere,  that  even  I  can't  face  without  wink- 
ing, but  that  you  House  People  may  not  even 
peep  at  unless  through  smoked  glasses." 


110  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

"  How  do  you  know  that  the  Sun  isn't  fire  all 
through  ?  " 

"  That  is  easily  learned,  even  by  House  People  ; 
they  see,  through  their  telescopes,  dark  spots  on 
the  Sun's  brightness.  What  are  these  spots  but 
where  rifts  in  the  blazing  atmosphere  show  the 
solid  core. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  this  Sun  Family,  to  which 
I  belong,  bits  of  this  fiery  vapour  whirled  away 
from  the  Sun  and  flew  into  space.  Some  bits 
flew  a  great  way  and  some  not  so  far.  As  soon 
as  these  whiffs  of  hot  breath  left  the  Sun  they 
were  told  the  first  rule,  'keep  moving,'  and  as 
the  hot  vapour  of  which  they  were  made  began 
to  spin,  it  took  a  round  shape,  so  at  first  all  the 
pieces  looked  like  so  many  separate  Suns. 

"  The  Plan  had  a  use  for  all  of  these  new 
globes,  and  they  were  set  moving  and  develop- 
ing, each  to  go  in  its  own  path  until  it  reaches 
the  goal  marked  out  for  it.  What  this  goal  is 
no  House  Person  may  know,  though  they  are 
always  watching  and  spying  up  into  the  sky  to 
find  out.  No  one  knows  the  Plan  but  the  First 
Heart  —  not  even  Heart  of  Nature. 

"  While  these  new  Suns  were  young  they  were 
very  hot  and  gave  light  like  their  parent ;  but  as 
they  gradually  cooled  they  shrank  and  grew  more 


THE   MAN  OF   THE   MOON  111 

and  more  solid  and  their  heat  became  less  and 
their  light  dim,  until  at  this  day  almost  all  of  the 
Sun's  family  shine  merely  by  the  light  that  they 
catch  from  his  own  face. 

"  Now  Moons  are  not  children  of  the  Sun,  but 
grandchildren,  for  they  are  made  of  the  hot  breath 
of  the  particular  earth  or  planet  they  follow.  I 
was  of  the  breath  of  that  planet  which  is  called 
the  Earth ;  as  1  cooled,  I  naturally  followed  her, 
around.  So  it  is  with  other  Moons  that  follow 
other  planets. 

"  It  took  many  years  for  the  Plan  to  make  the 
Earth  ready  for  Heart  of  Man  to  occupy.  House 
People  may  not  count  the  time  from  the  moment 
when  the  vapours  cleared  away,  light  dawned  upon 
a  solid  earth  crust,  and  the  waters  rolled  back, 
until  the  day  when  the  earth  was  ready  to  yield 
food  suitable  for  Heart  of  Man.  House  People 
have  not  numbers  enough  to  reckon  it,  yet  to  us 
of  Skyland  it  seems  only  a  few  short  days." 

"  But  Mooney,  what  was  happening  to  you 
while  your  leader,  the  Earth,  was  being  grown  ? " 

u  I  grew  also,  but  my  development  was  swifter. 
You  know  that  when  potatoes  are  taken  from  hot 
ashes  a  little  one  will  cool  much  quicker  than  a 
big  one." 

"Yes,  but  how  do  you  know  about  potatoes?" 


112  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I  may  not  tell  the  secrets  of  my  past.  I  know, 
that  is  enough.  You  must  not  hurry  me.  I  was 
a  very  small  planet,  so  I  cooled  quickly,  and  all  the 
changes  that  the  Earth  went  through  until  it  be- 
came the  garden  for  Heart  of  Man,  I,  too,  experi- 
enced. Mountains  rose  on  my  sides,  rivers  ran 
and  oceans  ebbed  and  flowed,  and  people  of  a  sort 
lived  on  me.  But  I  went  on  quickly  cooling  until 
my  very  heart  was  chilled.  Then  I  gave  off  no 
moist  breath  to  make  air  and  water,  for  I  was  an 
experiment  made  to  test  the  workings  of  the 
Plan. 

"  Listen,  House  Child.  As  Heart  of  God  saw 
that  the  earth  garden  was  complete  and  ready  to 
receive  the  new  animal  who  was  worthy  to  wear 
his  image  and  be  called  Heart  of  Man,  the  last 
life  left  my  cold  body.  As  a  garden  the  Plan 
needed  me  no  longer,  and  I  then  became  merely 
Dibik  Gheezis,  the  Night  Sun,  who  was  there- 
after to  help  and  be  a  servant  of  the  chosen  Earth 
of  all." 

"Poor  Mooney,  I  never  thought  that  you  had 
ever  had  such  an  interesting  life,  and  died  of  such 
an  awful  chill !  I  don't  quite  see  how  you  are 
very  much  help  to  the  Earth,  though  of  course  it 
isn't  your  fault.  And  what  became  of  the  last 
animals  that  lived  on  you?  " 


^w--  iaLfcaii 


KALENDS  K 


THE   MAN  OF  THE   MOON  113 

"  Not  much  use  !  "  cried  the  Moonbeams,  quiver- 
ing so  with  emotion  that  Anne  feared  for  a  mo- 
ment that  a  heavy  cloud  was  going  to  hide  them. 
"Not  much  use  !  I  did  not  believe  that  you  could 
be  so  ignorant.  How  could  there  be  an  Almanac 
without  me  ?  Howr  did  the  Indian  Brothers  divide 
their  large  pieces  of  time?" 

"  I  think  they  cut  notches  on  a  time  stick,  one 
for  every  winter,"  ventured  Anne,  feeling  rather 
cornered. 

"  Yes,  they  did ;  but  each  of  those  notches 
marked  a  year.  How  did  they  measure  the  next 
smaller  divisions?" 

"  They  —  called  them  —  why,  of  course,  they 
called  them  Moons.  The  Moon  of  Strawberries 
was  June,  and  the  Planting  Moon  May,  and  July 
the  Midsummer  Moon.  So  I  suppose  our  word 
'month'  comes  from  your  name  too." 

"  Yes,  it  does.  Listen;  this  is  the  way  time  from 
days  to  years  is  measured.  The  twenty-four  hours 
it  takes  the  Earth  to  turn  round  on  its  axle  is  a 
day;  half  of  that  time  or  thereabouts,  according 
to  season,  Gheezis,  the  Sun,  reigns,  and  the  other 
half  belongs  to  me,  Dibik  Gheezis,  the  Night  Sun, 
the  light  borrower.  Always  one  of  us  is  shining 
on  some  part  of  the  earth. 

"  The  division  of  the  months  is  my  work.     The 


^SpS'";    scant  twenty- 
eight  days  that 
-^  .7^  -       it  takes  me  to  walk 

___^.__.         ^?S"       around    the    Earth 

gives    name    to    the 
Moonth,    tricked    of 
:Sgg£*igg^gfegs^...  -•,     a  letter  to  month. 

••  The  time  it  takes  the  Earth  to  follow 
its  path  about  the  Sun  is  called  a  year, 
and  while  it  does  this  once,  I  have  made 
my  monthly  circuit  thirteen  times.  But 
House  People  think  the  number  thirteen 
is  crooked  and  unlucky,  so  they  divide  up 
the  thirteenth  month  and  give  a  few  days 
of  it  to  each  of  the  other  twelve,  and 
say  that  twelve  months  make  a  year.  The 
Red  Brothers  give  their  year  thirteen, 
while  AVabeno  makes  his  Kalendar  with 
twelve  and  one  long  month  of  Moons  to 
bind  them. 

"  You  can  well  see  that  one  who  gives 
name  to  time  and  dates,  and  has 
its  picture  in  the  Alma-  T 


114 


THE   MAN  OF  THE  MOON  115 

nacs,  is  very  important  in  the  affairs  of  Mother 
Earth." 

"  Of  course,  I  didn't  think  of  that  sort  of 
work.  I  mean  that  you  did  not  help  Heart  of 
Nature's  garden  to  grow  by  making  heat  or 
rain  or  anything  of  that  sort." 

"  No  —  not  exactly ;  but  I  make  a  cool  and 
pleasant  light  at  night  for  my  namesake,  the 
Moon  Moth,  and  his  kin  to  see  their  pathways 
to  the  Flower  Market.  I  watch  the  Brother- 
hood of  Beasts  upon  their  hunting  trips,  and  I 
paint  magic  pictures  in  cloud  and  earth  and 
water  to  give  delight  to  Heart  of  Man.  One 
thing  I  do  besides  all  this,  —  a  very  important 
thing,  —  I  help  make  the  tides  both  rise  and 
fall. 

"  The  Earth  tips  as  she  turns  daily  on  her  axle 
—  I  mean  axis  —  and  I,  though  cold  and  lifeless, 
have  still  the  power  of  drawing  water  toward  me, 
and  twice  a  day  it  rushes  and  rolls  up  and  twice 
spreads  back  again." 

"  Is  it  very  important  that  the  tides  should  go 
up  and  down  ?  "  asked  Anne,  incautiously. 

"  Important  !  If  it  was  never  high  tide  how 
could  the  big  ships  that  go  dancing  to  and  fro 
across  the  water  ever  reach  dry  land  ?  They 
would  all  stick  fast  in  the  mud.  I  wish  you 


116  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

would  ask  more  sensible  questions.  And  if  the 
tide  was  never  low,  how  could  House  People  dig 
clams  ?  " 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Anne,  humbly. 
"  Will  you  please  tell  me  what  became  of  some 
of  the  other  bits  of  the  Sun's  breath  that  turned 
into  planets  ?  Were  there  many  of  them,  and 
did  any  others  but  the  Earth  have  moon  children  ? 
Though  perhaps  they  are  so  far  away  that  you 
aren't  acquainted  with  them." 

"  I've  never  spoken  to  them,  or  been  really 
introduced,  but  runaway  comets  and  shooting 
stars  from  other  families  have  given  me  news 
about  them.  There  are  eight  large  planets,  or 
children  of  the  Sun,  who  have  separate  pathways 
in  our  race  track.  Besides  these  there  is  a  bunch 
of  little  ones  that  I  have  never  heard  much  about. 

"These  eight  are  all  of  different  sizes,  and  as 
no  two  take  the  same  path,  they  are  all  at  differ- 
ent distances  from  the  Sun,  and  of  course  some 
are  quite  warm  and  some  quite  cold." 

"And  do  they  all  have  years  and  months  the 
same  as  we  do,  and  can  they  all  go  round  the 
Sun  in  the  same  time  ?  " 

"  Please  think  a  moment,  House  Child,"  said 
the  Moon,  rather  tartly.  "  Suppose  there  were 
eight  men  riding  bicycles  around  a  tree  in  the 


THE   MAN  OF  THE  MOON  117 

middle  of  a  field,  and  some  were  close  to  the  tree 
and  some  were  on  the  outside  edge,  which  would 
get  around  the  tree  first  ?  " 

"  The  one  the  nearest  to  the  tree,  of  course." 

"  Very  well ;  it  is  the  same  way  with  the  planets. 
The  one  nearest  the  Sun  has  only  eighty-eight 
of  the  Earth's  days  in  his  year,  and  the  farthest 
takes  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  of  the  Earth's 
years  to  round  the  course  once." 

"  Oh  dear,'  how  very  complicated ! "  sighed 
Anne  to  herself  ;  "  the  whys  and  hows  of  Sky- 
land  are  much  more  like  arithmetic  lessons  than 
the  reasons  why  of  the  Bird  and  Beast  Brother- 
hood. I'm  very  sure  I  like  the  Earth  garden  best. 

"  Please  tell  me  how  the  planets  stand  in  the 
race  track.  I  suppose,  of  course,  this  Earth  is  the 
biggest." 

"  It  is  not ;  the  Earth  is  among  the  smallest ; 
it  only  seems  big  because  you  are  plump  on  it. 
I  look  larger  to  you  than  Jupiter,  —  the  largest 
of  all  planets,  —  but  that  is  because  I  am  close. 
I'm  only  about  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
miles  away." 

"Do  you  call  that  close?  /think  it  is  as  far 
away  as  forever.  How  far  away  js  the  Sun  then  ?  " 

"Oh,  a  little  matter  of  ninety  millions  or  so  of 
miles." 


118  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

"  Please,  Mooney,  how  large  are  you  yourself  ?  " 

"Nearly  fifty  times  less  than  the  Earth,  my 
mother." 

"  Oh  dear,  it  gets  worse  and  worse.  Don't  tell 
me  any  more  figures,  but  only  the  names  of  the 
planets  and  which  have  moons." 

"  Very  well  —  listen !  Mercury  is  the  name  of 
the  smallest;  he  runs  nearest  to  the  Sun;  he  has  no 
moon  children;  neither  has  Venus,  who  comes 
next ;  she  is  really  the  beauty  of  Skyland.  We 
all  admire  her  greatly,  and  she  seems  to  know  it. 
You  yourself  may  often  see  her  in  the  west  of  an 
evening  after  sunset,  smiling  both  to  the  setting 
Sun  and  to  me.  I  do  not  smile  my  brightest  at 
you  until  after  the  Sun  is  well  out  of  sight,  for  no 
moon  may  shine  brightly  upon  its  earth  until 
after  the  Sun  has  set." 

"  What  makes  sunset,  please  ? "  interrupted 
Anne. 

"As  the  Earth  turns  on  its  axle,  the  part  you 
are  standing  on  turns  its  back  on  the  Sun." 

"  Then  the  Sun  is  there  all  the  time  ?  " 

"  Certainly ;  a  part  of  the  Earth  turns  away, 
goes  into  the  shadow  of  itself,  —  that  is  ail." 

"  What  planet  runs  beyond  Venus  ?  " 

"  The  Earth,  with  me  for  her  only  moon  child. 
Beyond  her  comes  Mars,  fiery  and  warlike,  though 


THE   MAN  OF  THE   MOON  119 

small  of  size ;  he  has  twin  moons.  Then  the 
bunch  of  planets  called  Asteroids  crowd  along 
close  together.  Again,  beyond,  comes  Jupiter,  the 
giant,  proud,  haughty,  followed  by  four  fine 
moons,  all  as  large,  and  one  much  larger  than  I. 

"Now  I  speak  of  almost  the  outside  boundary 
of  our  Sun's  domain,  and  news  from  those  points 
is  vague  and  uncertain;  still  I  have  been  told  that 
Saturn,  the  next  planet,  is  the  strangest  of  all  the 
Sun's  children.  Eight  moons  has  he,  and  besides, 
he  is  girt  about  with  shifting  rings  and  belts  of 
light  that  whirl  and  vary,  casting  shadows  on  his 
face  so  that  none  may  surely  say  how  they  are 
formed,  and  making  him  look  every  inch  a 
juggler. 

"  The  last  two  planets  in  the  race  lurk  so  far 
away  that  they  seem  smaller  than  the  stars  of 
other  Sky  families.  Uranus  has  four  small 
moons,  and  Neptune,  the  outsider,  the  farthest  off 
of  all,  has  one  solitary  companion.  Though  Nep- 
tune seems  small  as  a  pin's  point,  a  shooting  star 
once  told  me  that  it  was  more  than  fifty  times 
as  large  as  my  own  Earth.  News  travels  slowly 
from  the  outside  to  the  Sun's  family ;  sight  slower 
yet,  so  much  so  that  what  I  have  heard  is  only 
hearsay  knowledge." 

"  What  makes  those  spots  all   over   you,  dear 


120  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

Mooney,  that  some  people  think  look  like  eyes 
and  a  nose  and  a  mouth,  and  so  they  say  there  is 
a  man  in  the  moon  ?  " 

"  It  makes  me  weary,"  replied  the  Moon,  yawn- 
ing behind  a  convenient  little  black  cloud,  "  to 
think  of  the  senseless  gossip  that  House  People 
will  believe  and  the  stories  they  make  out  of 
nothing.  I  suppose  that  is  why  they  started  that 
tale  about  my  being  made  of  cheese,  and  that  the 
man  ate  me  up  once  a  month  and  then  I  grew 
again,  and  the  Red  Brothers  saying  that  I  grow 
sick  and  die  each  month.  Not  but  what  it  is  the 
same  in  Skyland.  Mars  is  always  getting  in  a 
temper  and  making  remarks  when  Mercury  and 
Venus  get  out  of  sight  between  the  Earth  and 
Sun.  And  I've  seen  a  few  sparks  of  shooting 
stars  fairly  set  the  entire  sky  afire  with  gossip. 
Those  spots  and  pits  on  my  face  are  the  peaks 
of  mountains,  the  craters  of  worn-out  volcanoes, 
and  the  beds  of  empty  oceans,  —  that  is  all ;  but 
people  had  rather  believe  tricks  and  fables  than 
easy  true  things." 

"  How  is  it  that  you  grow  large  and  small,  and 
yet  sometimes  when  you  are  very  little  I  can  see 
the  faint  shape  of  the  whole  of  you  ?  " 

"  Think  a  moment,  Anne.  You  know  that  I 
travel  round  the  earth." 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  MOON  121 

"Yes,  surely." 

"  When  I  am  behind  the  Earth  the  Sun's  light 
is  shut  off  by  it,  and  the  House  People  cannot  see 
me.  But  as  I  move  about,  a  tiny  crescent 
emerges  from  the  Earth's  round  shadow  and 
catches  the  sunbeams.  Then  I  am  called  the 
New  Moon.  Gradually  I  creep  around  until  I 
am  in  full  light ;  then  I  am  called  the  Full 
Moon. 

"  I  continue  through  the  light  until  I  enter  the 
shadow  on  the  other  side,  and  gradually,  as  I  go 
behind  the  Earth  again,  I  am  called  the  Waning 
Moon,  until  I  wholly  disappear.  Sometimes, 
when  I  am  only  the  slim  new  crescent,  if  the 
air  is  clear  enough,  sunlight  is  reflected  from  the 
Earth  upon  my  shady  side  to  show  my  full  face, 
for  it  is  always  there,  though  in  shadow ;  then 
House  People  say,  '  The  old  Moon  is  in  the  new 
Moon's  arms.' ' 

"  So  the  Earth  reflects  sunshine  on  the  Moon 
just  as  the  Moon  does  on  the  Earth  —  how  won- 
derful !  "  sighed  Anne,  unclasping  her  hands  from 
behind  her  head  and  dropping  them  on  the 
counterpane. 

The  Moon  had  crossed  the  window  and  was  dis- 
appearing behind  the  frame  at  the  left  side. 

"  Why,  that  is  the  same  way  the  Earth  shuts 


122 


WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 


the  Sun's  light  off," 
murmured  Anne,  "  be- 
cause the  Full  Moon  is 
really  all  outside  there 
now." 

"  Good-night,  Anne," 
whispered  the  Moon- 
beams, tiptoeing  softly 
backward  toward  the 
window;  "it is  Weeng's 
turn  now." 

"  Only  one  more 
question,  dear  Moon- 
ey,"she  begged,  sitting 
up  suddenly.  "Please, 
who  were  the  very  last 
persons  or  animals  that 
lived  on  you,  and  what 
became  of  them  ?  " 

"  Wabeno,  the 
Magician,  and  Wa- 
goose,  the  Dream 
Fox,"  whispered 
Weeng  close  in 
Anne's  ear  as  she 
dropped  back  softly 
pL  among  the  pillows. 


VI 


U/l?at  tye  C;oal  said  to  tl?<?  KM1 '99  \Mood 


HE  Goose-egg  Moon  held  many  cold,  dreary 
>  days,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Ruffed 
Grouse  had  given  the  Spring  Signal  and  Hyla 
Pickering  and  his  orchestra  tuned  up  persistently 
every  evening. 

"  We  can't  go  out  to  find  any  whys  this  after- 
noon," said  Anne  to  Waddles,  as  they  stood  look- 
ing disconsolately  out  of  the  study  window  down 
toward  the  barns.  The  rain  was  falling  in  sheets, 
beating  the  fuzzy  catkins  off  the  trees  and  bury- 

123 


124  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

ing  them  in  the  muddy  walk,  while  every  few 
minutes  a  gust  of  wind  brought  it  against  the 
window  with  a  swish. 

"  There  isn't  a  bird  or  a  butterfly  or  a  flower  or 
anything  to  talk  to.  I  wish  Tommy  hadn't  gone 
to  town  with  father  and  mother  yesterday.  I 
'most  think  I  should  enjoy  playing  'den  and 
bear'  with  him  under  the  dinner  table,"  con- 
tinued Anne,  with  a  sigh,  "for  I've  done  all 
the  lessons  that  were  marked." 

"  It  is  dull,  to  be  sure,"  replied  Waddles,  yawn- 
ing and  adroitly  snapping  up  a  big  fly  that  buzzed 
against  the  lower  panes.  "  I  wouldn't  mind  play- 
ing '  snatch  bone '  with  Lumberlegs  if  you  will 
whistle  him  up  from  the  barns  and  give  us  a 
bone." 

"Waddles,  I'm  surprised  at  you,  when  you 
know  that  it  is  a  mustn't  be  for  Lumberlegs 
to  come  into  the  house  in  wet  weather.  Do 
you  remember  the  first  time  you  brought  him 
in,  when  Aunt  Prue  was  visiting  here,  —  how 
he  shook  water  all  over  her  new  cape?  But 
what  sort  of  a  game  is  'snatch  bone'?  I  don't 
think  I've  ever  heard  of  it.  Did  you  teach  it 
to  Lumberlegs  ?  " 

"  No,  missy,  he  taught  me.  You  see,  as  I  lived 
so  many  years  alone  with  you  I  knew  very  little 


THE  COAL  TO  THE  KINDLING  WOOD        125 

about  dog  society  and  the  only  game  I  knew  was 
'lone  bone.'  In  that  game  you  take  a  bone  and 
growl  at  it,  then  knock  it  away,  or  up  in  the  air 
with  your  paw,  jump  after  it  and  try  to  catch  it 
as  it  drops,  shake  it,  bite  it,  and  growl  again.  It 
is  very  good  exercise,  but  it's  awfully  dull  to  have 
to  do  your  own  growling.  '  Snatch  bone  '  is  much 
more  exciting.  You  need  a  good  strong  beef  or 
mutton  bone  for  this  game  ;  little  bones  wear  out 
too  quick.  We  dogs  go  out  in  a  place  where  there 
is  plenty  of  room.  Lumberlegs  takes  the  bone, 
lies  down,  and  puts  his  paw  upon  it  and  gives  a 
growl  as  a  signal  to  begin.  Then  I  wag  my  tail 
hard. 

"  Lumberlegs  throws  the  bone  up  in  the  air  ;  we 
both  jump  to  catch  it ;  the  one  who  gets  it  runs 
around  with  it  in  his  mouth  as  fast  as  he  can  go, 
and  the  other  one  tries  to  snatch  the  bone  away 
from  him.  Sometimes  we  both  get  a  good  hold 
with  our  teeth  at  the  same  time,  and  then  we 
wrestle  and  tumble  and  grab  with  our  paws,  and 
the  one  who  holds  on  the  longest  takes  the  bone 
back  to  his  side,  growls,  and  then  we  begin  again. 
When  time's  up  the  dog  that  has  the  bone  may 
eat  it." 

"  It  sounds  as  if  it  might  be  fun,"  mused  Anne  ; 
"  but  don't  you  ever  grow  angry  and  bite  ?  " 


126  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  That  is  against  the  rules.  You  may  sit  on  the 
other  dog  if  you  can,  but  never  bite.  So  it's 
really  better  to  play  when  you  aren't  very  hungry 
and  the  bone  doesn't  count  for  so  much.  Then 
it's  sport ;  but  if  you  are  hungry  and  keep  getting 
only  a  taste,  it's  provoking,  and  then  it's  only  a 
common  fight  and  no  real  sport. 

"  It's  nice  and  warm  in  here,  missy,  and  I 
think,  if  you  don't  mind,  I'll  curl  up  and  take  a 
nap,  and  by  and  by,  if  you  have  any  of  those 
cookies  that  I  smell  baking,  you  might  wake  me 
up ; "  so  saying,  Waddles  stretched  himself  in  front 
of  the  fire,  his  nose  nicely  fitted  between  his  front 
paws. 

A  fire  of  cannel  coal  in  a  basket  grate  rested  on 
the  fire-dogs,  instead  of  the  usual  logs  ;  for  it  had 
been  such  a  long  cold  season  that  the  big  log  pile 
had  burned  away  too  fast,  and  the  woodhouse 
was  nearly  empty.  Anne  kneeled  on  the  rug, 
opened  a  long  box  that  served  as  a  window  seat, 
and  looked  in.  There  was  not  much  to  see, — 
some  great  lumps  of  coal  at  one  end,  while  the  rest 
of  the  box  was  filled  with  pine  kindling  wood, 
split  in  various  lengths  and  sizes. 

"  Miss  Jule  said  she  would  give  me  a  big  knife 
like  hers,  with  three  blades,  a  hoof  pick,  and  a 
punch  in  it  to  make  holes  in  leather,  just  as  soon 


THE  COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING   WOOD        127 

as  I  could  whittle  a  good-looking  clothespin  with 
my  old  knife.  I  think  I  might  as  well  begin 
now,"  said  Anne,  taking  a  small  but  stout  jack- 
knife  from  her  pocket. 

"  It  would  be  better  to  have  a  clothespin  to  copy, 
though.  I  think  I  smell  cookies  too,  —  the  crispy, 
gingery  ones." 

In  a  moment  Anne  returned  with  the  clothes- 
pin and  nearly  a  dozen  thin,  scallopy  cookies  on  a 
plate,  which  she  set  carefully  on  the  floor  beside 
her.  Next  she  selected  a  bit  of  wood  from  the 
open  box,  propped  herself  against  it,  and  began  to 
whittle  very  slowly  and  carefully. 

"  Cri-cri-crick  ! "  cried  the  Cricket  under  the 
hearth. 

"Buz-bumbl-buz,"  answered  O-o-chug,  the  House 
Fly,  beating  his  head  recklessly  against  the  win- 
dow. 

"Humph!  the  Voiceless  Brotherhood  is  waking 
up,"  said  the  near  andiron,  as  a  tiny  gray  Moth, 
with  silver-powdered  wings,  crept  out  from  the 
edge  of  the  hearth  rug  and  fluttered  to  Anne's 
skirt. 

"What  is  the  Voiceless  Brotherhood?"  asked 
Anne.  "  I  never  heard  of  that  before." 

"  All  the  insects  and  animals  that  have  no 
voices  in  their  throats,  but  speak  with  some  other 


128  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

parts  of  their  bodies,  or  by  signals,"  said  the 
Cricket,  coming  out  of  his  crack  and  crossing  the 
hearth  with  a  single  jump. 

"  But  surely  you  have  a  voice ;  you  make 
almost  as  much  noise  as  Hyla  Pickering." 

"  I  have  a  call,  —  for  Heart  of  Nature  gives  to 
every  animal  who  needs  a  mate  some  way  of  call- 
ing her,  —  but  no  voice.  My  call  is  like  the  cry 
a  fiddle  gives,  —  watch  and  listen  !  Look  at  my 
upper  wings,  see  the  rough  spot  on  their  under- 
sides ;  I  draw  one  of  these  wings  to  and  fro 
across  the  other  and  the  call  is  given ;  but  it  does 
not  come  from  my  throat,  for  I  have  none,  and  no 
lungs.  Listen  again,  '  Cri-cri — cri-cri-crick  ! ' ' 

"  How  strange  that  is  !  "  cried  Anne.  "  But 
you  must  be  different  from  birds  and  frogs ;  they 
sing  and  call  to  their  mates  mostly  in  spring,  but 
you  cry  all  summer  long.  That  is,  I  think  you 
do,  if  you  are  one  of  the  Crickets  that  live  under 
the  grass." 

"  Yes,  I'm  a  brown  Field  Cricket.  I  have  a 
summer  home  outdoors,  but  when  winter  comes 
I  creep  inside,  and  if  the  house  is  warm  it  makes 
me  think  it  is  spring,  and  I  chirp  up.  The  reason 
why  I  chirp  all  summer  is  a  great  family  secret  ; 
but  I  don't  mind  telling  you,  because  you  are  such 
a  friend  of  Heart  of  Nature. 


THE   COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING   WOOD        129 

"  In  our  family  the  females  not  only  have  no 
voices,  but  no  way  of  making  any  sound  at  all, 
and  so  we  are  allowed  to  sing  to  them  all  the 
season  to  keep  their  spirits  up. 

"  We  are  a  very  revengeful  family,  and  if  any 
House  Person  kills  one  of  our  kin,  Wabeno  shows 
us  the  offender,  and,  biding  our  time,  we  work  our 
way  into  his  house  and,  with  our  sharp  scissor 
jaws,  cut  his  best  clothes  to  strips.  We  are  very 
strict,  too,  among  ourselves,  and  if  one  of  our 
children  or  our  mates  disobey,  we  immediately 
eat  up  the  offender,  and  there,  is  an  end  of  the 
matter  without  discussion.  Yet,  if  people  are 
good  to  us,  we  not  only  do  them  no  harm,  but 
soothe  them  with  our  songs  and  coax  them  to  sit 
and  rest  by  the  fire  and  see  the  Dream  Fox's 
picture-book. 

"  I  have  a  big  cousin  living  in  foreign  countries 
who  loves  House  People  so  well  that  he  always 
lives  in  houses,  and  some  people  like  his  song  and 
keep  these  Crickets  in  cages  like  song  birds,  — 
cri-cri-cri !  " 

"  What  are  you,  and  where  are  you  trying  to 
go  ?  "  asked  Anne  of  a  little  Moth  that  was  striv- 
ing to  crawl  under  one  of  the  plaits  of  her  tartan- 
plaid  skirt.  "  You  are  very  small  and  not  a  bit 
pretty.  Are  you  any  relation  of  the  Moon  Moth 


130  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

or  the  Milkweed  Monarch  or  Tiger  Swallow  Tail  ? 
I  can  hardly  see  how  you  look.  Do  you  work  in 
the  Flower  Market?  If  you  do,  I  should  think 
you  would  only  be  able  to  carry  messages  for 
tiny  wide  open  flowers  like  Mignonette  or  Can- 
dytuft." 

"  I'm  only  a  very  distant  relation  of  those  big 
Butterflies  and  Moths.  No,  I  do  not  work  in  the 
Flower  Market ;  in  fact,  I  have  a  very  dull  time. 
I  dislike  bright  sunlight  and  prefer  to  stay  in- 
doors. I  belong  to  the  Wool  Exchange,  and  am 
particularly  interested  in  the  carpet  business. 
Please  let  me  get  out  of  the  light  and  hide  in 
your  skirt." 

"  Don't  you  let  it !  "  buzzed  the  House  Fly ; 
"  if  you  do,  that  sly  little  thing  will  lay  eggs  in 
some  corner  of  your  gown,  and  then  when  they 
hatch  into  worms  they  will  eat  the  cloth  and 
spin  up  into  cocoons,  and  more  Moths  will  come 
out.  These  evil  young  Moths  make  holes  in 
everything  woollen,  and  mow  the  fur  from  muffs 
and  capes  as  if  they  were  cutting  grass. 

"What  is  worse,  too,  these  wicked  little  Moths, 
working  slyly  in  the  dark,  lay  two  broods  a  year, 
—  one  in  spring,  one  in  late  summer,  —  so  woe  be- 
tide those  who  give  even  a  single  Moth  a  hiding 
place.  Kill  that  one,  Anne,  with  a  swift  pinch; 


THE   COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING  WOOD        131 

for  if  he  holds  the  Wool  Exchange  all  summer 
in  your  pretty  gown,  it  will  be  fit  for  nothing  but 
Rag  Fair  in  the  autumn. 

"How  do  I  know  this?  Despised  as  he  is, 
persecuted  by  men  and  spiders,  beaten  out  of 
houses  and  caught  by  the  wings  on  sweet  sticky 
paper,  O-o-chug,  the  House  Fly,  sees  a  thing  or 
two  as  he  walks  head  downward  on  the  ceiling, 
and  I  see  two  other  Voiceless  Ones  in  this  room 
that  ought  to  be  put  out." 

"  Oh,  what  are  they  ?  "  cried  Anne,  starting  up 
and  looking  into  the  shadowy  corners  ;  "  I  can't 
see  a  thing.  There,  I've  pinched  that  Moth,  and 
he  has  all  turned  to  gray  dust." 

"  I  know  you  don't  see  anything ;  that  is  why 
the  things  are  very  dangerous.  Take  up  the 
corner  of  the  rug  behind  the  sofa  —  what  do  you 
find?" 

"  Some  mites  of  beetles,  kind  of  mottled,  with 
a  wavy  red  line  on  their  backs  ;  they  look  some- 
thing like  Lady  Bugs.  Oh !  and  when  I  touch 
them  they  draw  up  their  legs  and  play  dead." 

"  They  are  not  Lady  Bugs,  but  father  and  mother 
Carpet  Beetles.  They  fly  about,  in  and  out,  in 
the  summer  season  and  feed  upon  plants ;  but 
when  they  lay  their  eggs  they  creep  into  floor 
cracks  and  dark  crannies.  In  a  few  days,  if  it 


132 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


is   warm   enough, 
their  eggs  hatch  into  larvae 
covered  with  a  woolly  skin 
that  looks  like  a  shred  of 
dark  brown  worsted.    This  is  called 
the  Buffalo  Moth.     How  it  eats  and 
eats,  moults  its  skin  and  eats  even 
that,  doing  this  half  a  dozen  times 
and  working  great  damage,  until  it 

G is  fully  grown  !     Then  it  splits  this 

skin  for  good,  and  you  can  see  the  legs  and  wings 
of  what  soon  will  be  a  full-grown  Carpet  Beetle. 

"If  your  fine  rug  is  riddled  with  holes  from 
underneath,  blame  the  Buffalo  Moth.  If  a  new 
blanket  looks  like  a  target  full  of  small  shot, 
blame  the  Buffalo  Moth.  Cloth,  cotton,  paper, 
fur,  lace,  —  all  are  grist  for  its  mill." 

"Then  I'll  kill  these  Beetles  too,"  said  Anne, 


THE   COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING   WOOD         133 

promptly  executing  them  with  her  knife.  "  Now, 
where  is  the  other  bad  Voiceless  One  ?  " 

"The  third  is  the  Book  Louse,  a  partner  of 
the  Book  Worm,"  said  O-o-chug,  "  and  even  now 
they  are  eating  the  paste  that  holds  the  binding 
on  those  old,  leather-covered  books,  on  the  high 
shelf,  that  your  father  says  you  must  never  touch. 
Tell  him  from  me  that  he  had  better  give  those 
books  a  sun-bath  for  their  health,  else  their  backs 
will  soon  grow  weakly  and  mayhap  break." 

"  Missy,"  said  Waddles,  suddenly  waking  up, 
"  was  I  right  about  the  cookies  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  you  were  ;  but  I  was  so  busy  with 
these  voiceless  things  that  I  forgot  all  about  them. 
No,  don't  help  yourself ;  wait  until  I  break  your 
share  into  pieces  and  put  it  on  a  paper." 

Waddles  stretched  his  legs,  bowed  his  back, 
and  licked  his  lips,  saying  in  a  half-grieved  voice  : 
"  You  always  used  to  let  me  eat  out  of  your  hand 
and  never  bothered  about  catching  crumbs  in 
paper.  Besides,  I  never  spill  crumbs." 

"  I  know  it,  Waddlekins,  but  it's  one  of  your 
responsibilities ;  Lumberlegs  slobbers  and  spills 
such  lots  of  crumbs,  that  mother  said, '  If  you  feed 
the  dogs  in  the  house,  they  must  eat  from  a  paper.' 
I  guess  rules  are  always  made  for  the  crumby 
people." 


134  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"Then  why  don't  you  eat  off  the  paper  too, 
missy?  You  are  making  crumbs,"  and  Waddles 
began  to  pick  them  up  daintily  with  the  tip  of 
his  tongue. 

Anne  laughed  and  hugged  him  so  suddenly 
that  she  tipped  against  the  wood  box,  at  which 
a  lump  of  coal  lost  its  balance  and  rolled  into 
the  kindling  wood. 

"  Keep  your  distance,  Smutty  Nose  !  " 

"  Smutty  Nose,  indeed  !  How  dare  you  call 
me  that  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  Kindling  Wood  to  the  Coal, 
"  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  House  People  call  me  Coal,  and  sometimes 
when  the  weather  is  very  cold,  King  Coal." 

"They  spell  the  real  King  Cole's  name  a  dif- 
ferent way,"  interrupted  Anne. 

"They  couldn't  very  well  do  that,"  replied 
the  black  lump,  "because  /  am  the  real  King 
Coal  ;  the  other  man  was  the  usurper,  so  he  didn't 
dare  spell  his  name  correctly  for  fear  of  being  ar- 
rested for  forgery." 

"How  is  it  that  an  old  hard  dead  thing  like  you 
can  burn  as  well  as  I,  who  was  last  summer  one 
of  the  tallest  pines  on  Wild  Cat  Mountain  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  that  is  half  so  strange,"  said 
King  Coal,  brushing  the  dust  from  his  face,  "as 


THE   COAL   TO   THE   KINDLING   WOOD        135 

the  reason  why  either  of  us  burn  at  all.  Do  you 
know  why  we  do  ?  " 

"  I  only  know  what  the  Winds  of  Night  whisper 
to  us  on  the  mountain  from  the  time  we  reach 
our  six  green  finger-tips  above  the  soil,  until  the 
axe  stroke  tells  us  that  our  tree  life  is  ended. 

"  The  Winds  say :  '  Reach  out,  O  Pines ;  with 
both  foot  and  hand  draw  food  from  the  earth 
and  stretch  begging  palms  to  the  sky  ;  grasp  the 
sunlight,  hold  it  fast.  Grow,  swell  your  limbs,  and 
prepare  greater  storehouses  for  the  hoard  of  sun- 
beams. Warm  shall  they  feel  as  you  grasp  them, 
yet  they  soon  grow  cool  in  the  storehouse.  But 
when  Wabeno  speaks  or  touches  you  with  fire, 
back  to  the  air  shall  these  stored  sunbeams  return, 
and  all  that  will  remain  of  you  will  be  the  ashes 
of  the  storehouse  walls.' 

"  All  this  is  true.  For  twenty  years  I  stretched 
out  my  hands  and  begged  for  sunbeams,  grasping 
and  hoarding  them.  To-day  they  throw  my  ribs 
into  the  grate  and  touch  fire  to  them.  Wabeno 
calls  !  I  blaze,  and  all  the  store  of  sunlight  dis- 
appears into  the  air  and  leaves  a  pinch  of  ashes." 

"  And  you  pass  on  the  magic  touch  ?  Do  not  I 
blaze,  too,  when  your  heat  touches  me  ? "  asked 
King  Coal.  "And  though  I  blaze  longer  and 
fiercer,  is  not  my  end  the  same  —  a  heap  of  ashes  ?  " 


136  WABEXO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  Certainly,"  said  Anne,  "  and  both  sorts  of 
ashes  are  grimy  things,  only  wood  ashes  are  good 
for  plants  and  coal  ashes  aren't.  I  don't  think  if 
I  were  you,  Kindling  Wood,  I  should  call  King 
Coal  '  Smutty  Nose,'  for  though  you  are  cer- 
tainly cleaner  in  the  beginning,  it  seems  to  me  as 
if  you  might  be  relations." 

"  We  are,"  said  the  Coal,  "  though  it  isn't  to  be 
wondered  at  that  this  newly  cut  pine  wood  should 
not  understand  the  relationship,  for  it  has  taken 
the  cleverest  House  People  years  and  years  to 
find  it  out.  The  story  of  it  seems  stranger  than 
the  wildest  picture  in  Wagoose's  book,  and  more 
wonderful  than  all  the  tricks  of  Wabeno,  the 
Magician. 

"  There  are  many  magic  gases  floating  about  the 
Earth  that  are  not  needed  for  the  Brotherhood 
of  Man  or  Beasts  to  breathe,  —  in  fact,  some  of 
these  vapours  are  very  hurtful  to  animals.  The 
Plan  says  that  the  Plant  Brotherhood  shall  suck 
these  gases  from  the  air,  digest  them,  and  return 
part  of  them  to  the  air  again  purified,  while  the 
plant  keeps  the  hurtful  part  for  its  own  food." 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  Kindling  Wood,  "  I  didn't 
know  exactly  how  it  was  done  ;  but  I  knew  I  was 
always  sucking  in  and  breathing  out,  and  that  the 
Winds  of  Night  were  always  bringing  and  taking 


THE   COAL  TO   THE   KINDLING   WOOD         137 

vapours  from  my  leaves.  But  how,  pray,  did  you 
know  all  this?  Did  the  rock  of  which  you  are 
made  come  from  a  forest  ?  —  for  of  course  you 
are  a  rock." 

"  Everything  in  Nature's  garden  belongs  to  one 
of  three  great  Brotherhoods,  —  the  Animal,  the 
Vegetable,  and  the  Mineral,"  said  King  Coal,  "and 
I  have  belonged  to  two  of  these,  —  the  Vegetable 
and  the  Mineral.  I  once  was  a  plant,  a  tree  of  a 
forest  thicker  and  greener  than  any  that  have  ever 
been  seen  by  Heart  of  Man.  I  am  now  a  piece  of 
coal,  a  mineral  claiming  kin  with  rocks,  dug  deep 
from  the  earth.  Between  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  my  life  are  many  steps  and  as  many  years 
as  the  leaves  in  all  the  forests  of  the  world. 

"  There  is  in  air,  be  it  ever  so  pure,  a  vapour,1 
that  plants  need  for  .their  daily  breath.  Now 
listen  to  how  this  gas  was  caught  from  the  air  in 
bygone  ages  and  turned  into  coal. 

"  The  Moon,  I  suppose,  has  told  you  often  how 
she  and  her  master,  the  Earth,  were  once  fiery 
balls  formed  of  the  Earth's  breath  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  the  Kindling  Wood,  "the  Moon 
talks  about  little  else  but  the  past;  but  we  trees 
on  the  mountain  never  believed  what  she  said." 

"  You  should  believe  the  Moon.  She  tells  the 
1  Carbonic  acid  gas. 


138 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


truth,  for  she  has  seen  whereof  she  tells," 
said  King  Coal.  "  We  have  known  each 
other  ever  since  I  also  stood  in  a  mighty 
forest  jungle." 

"Did  House  People  cut  you  down, 
did  the  Winds  play  pranks  and  uproot 
you,  or  did  Wawa-sa-mo,  the  Light- 
ning, rend  you  ?  "  asked  the  Kindling 
Wood. 

"  House    People    cut    me    down  ? 
There  was   none   such  in   my   day ; 
never  did  I  see  the  face  of  Heart  of 
Man  until,  by  a  deep  thunderous 
noise,  I  was  shaken  from  my  earth 
bed.     When  I  was  of  the  jungle, 
Man  and  the  animals  nearest  to 
him  were  not  yet  made. 

"  It   would    have    seemed    a 
strange  world  to  a  Pine  tree. 
Gigantic    Lizards    and    huge 
Frogs  swam  in  the  waters,  but 
no  birds  sang  among  the  tall 
,,/,;.  Y      rank    trees,    or   left    their 
tracks  in  the  mud ; 
„  none  of  the  Beast 
Brothers    of    the 
woods  had  come. 
SU, 


'.*f      rank 

*J4-?~-u . 


THE   COAL   TO   THE   KINDLING    WOOD        139 

"  The  plants  bore  no  gay  flowers ;  they  were  of 
the  Flowerless  Tribe,  such  -as  your  ferns,  mosses, 
and  horsetails,  that  carry  but  seed-dust  spores  and 
wave  no  gay  petal  flags  in  the  Flower  Market 
to  lure  the  insect  messengers. 

"  Nature's  garden  was  not  ready  for  them ;  the 
solid  earth  crust  that  rose  here  and  there  above 
the  waters  was  yet  thin ;  heat  and  steam  made 
the  plant  growth  thick ;  the  air  was  still  heavy 
with  the  gases  that  plants  may  suck,  but  that 
may  not  be  breathed  by  man. 

"  Heart  of  Nature  said  :  '  Grow  exceedingly,  ye 
Flowerless  Plants ;  increase  and  multiply  beyond 
belief.  Suck  the  poison  from  the  air  and  purify 
it;  the  Plan  says  it  must  be  so.' 

"  We  grew  and  sucked  and  dropped  our  seed 
and  leaves,  and  grew  again,  until  blackening 
leaf  and  wood  mould  lay  in  deep  layers,  black 
with  the  carbon  the  living  plant  had  sucked 
and  stored  away." 

"  I  don't  see  how  air  could  turn  into  smutti- 
ness,"  said  Anne. 

"  Go  to  the  woods  to-day  and  you  will  see 
that  it  is  so.  Rub  your  hand  on  a  smooth  old 
tree  trunk,  are  not  your  fingers  smutty?  Look 
at  some  dead  ferns  that  lie  sodden  and  beaten 
into  the  mud,  are  they  not  blackening  also  ? 


140  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  When  all  the  growth  of  many  years  lay  in  a 
mass  decaying,  and  the  earth's  crust  sank  a  little, 
no  more  trees  grew,  and  water  began  to  spread 
la}rers  of  mud  over  where  our  jungle  was,  as 
water  covers  the  leaf  mould  on  a  pond's  bottom. 
Then  the  mass  took  the  first  step  of  its  long 
journey  from  wood  to  coal  land,  changing  at 
each  stopping  place,  and  in  some  cases  lagging 
behind  and  never  reaching  the  end  of  the  great 
transformation. 

"At  the  first  stop  the  blackening  mass  was 
what  House  People  call  peat,  a  mossy,  spongy 
sort  of  stuff  that  may  be  cut  in  blocks,  and 
smoulders  slowly  as  it  burns.  You  may  find 
this  change  going  on  in  many  places  even 
to-day. 

"One  day  the  earth  crust  heaved,  rose,  and 
overlapped  the  jungle,  as  scum  folds  over  on  a 
boiling  pot;  so  heat  and  weight  were  added  to 
the  mass,  from  which  some  gases  escaped  and 
others  boiled  down  to  make  new  substances. 
After  a  long  wait,  compressed  and  molten,  we 
grew  browner  and  more  solid  and  became  what 
is  called  lignite,  or  brown  coal.  This  has  such 
a  sulphurous  breath  that  it  chokes  House  People 
when  they  burn  it.  After  this,  harder  and 
blacker  we  grew,  and  straightway  stepped  from 


THE   COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING  WOOD       141 

plant  to  rock  land,  or  from  the  Vegetable  to  the 
Mineral  world. 

"  Look  at  me  !  I  am  the  first  of  the  true  line. 
House  People  call  me  Cannel  Coal.  Am  I  not 
glossy  like  jet,  that  is  also  a  kinsman?  When 
I  feel  the  touch  of  your  magic  torch,  see  how 
quickly  I  give  back  my  stored  sunshine  in  an 
oily  tongue  of  flame ! 

"  But  though  I  have  stored  much  carbon 
there  are  others  of  my  family,  all  older  than  I, 
who  hold  more.  Two  brothers  I  have,  —  Soft 
Coal  that  House  People  burn  in  locomotives, 
and  Hard  Coal  that  makes  the  steady  kitchen 
fires.  Two  cousins  also  I  have,  the  first  named 
Black  Lead,  that  House  People  know  quite  inti- 
mately,—  using  it  in  their  pencils  and  making  it 
speak  their  thoughts." 

"  To  be  sure,"  cried  Anne,  "  I  never  thought 
of  it ;  but  lead  is  very  like  coal.  What  is  the 
other  cousin  ?  I  think  it  must  be  ink." 

"No,  the  other,  the  rarest,  the  one  that  has 
made  all  the  changes  and  is  the  farthest  away 
from  wood,  is  the  Diamond." 

"  The  Diamond !  That  beautiful  jewel  in 
mother's  ring?  How  can  that  be,  King  Coal, 
when  all  the  rest  of  the  family  are  sooty  and  can 
be  burned,  and  the  diamond  is  so  clear  and  white 


142  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

and  hard  that  mother  wrote  my  name  and 
Tommy's  on  the  study  window  with  hers?" 

"  Ask  Wabeno  how  it  came  to  be  so  clear  and 
pure ;  but  this  I  know,  that  it  will  burn  away 
even  as  I  myself,  if  fierce  magic  heat  is  blown 
upon  it,  and  nothing  be  left  but  a  pinch  of 
ashes ! 

"  Besides  all  these,  many  other  things  were 
boiled  from  us  as  we  lay  buried,  for  the  astral 
oil  you  burn  is  only  coal  juice  and  our  mass 
unearthed  by  Heart  of  Man  yields  priceless  dyes 
and  drugs  and  medicines,  that  were  all  drawn 
from  the  air  through  the  breathing  of  the  trees  of 
that  ancient  jungle. 

"  So  you  see,  friend  Kindling  Wood,  that  we 
are  kin,  though  parted  in  age  by  countless  years." 

"Does  all  the  coal  we  burn  come  from  your 
jungle,  and  what  shall  we  do  when  it  is  all  dug 
out  ?  " 

"There  were  jungles  dotted  almost  every- 
where that  the  earth's  crust  rose  above  the 
waters.  As  one  sank  and  began  its  trip  to  Coal 
Land,  the  Plan  planted  another  on  top  of  it  again 
and  again,  until  the  earth's  crust  was  filled  with 
coal  veins." 

"  Just  like  layers  in  a  jelly  cake  !  "  cried  Anne 
clapping  her  hands. 


THE   COAL   TO   THE   KINDLING    WOOD        143 

"  Jelly  cake,  where  ?  "  said  Waddles,  starting  up 
suddenly  and  then  looking  foolish  when  he  real- 
ized his  mistake. 

"This  time  was  called  the  Carbon  Time,"1  con- 
tinued King  Coal,  "because  during  it  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas  from  the  air  was  sucked  up  by  the 
jungles  and  made  way  with.  The  air  then  became 
pure,  and  higher  animals  appeared,  according  to 
the  Plan,  —  Reptiles,  Birds,  Mammals,  like  your 
cows  and  horses,  and  finally  came  Heart  of 
Man. 

"  Listen,  House  Child  ;  when  this  last  Heart 
came  he  dug  in  the  earth's  bosom  and  found 
King  Coal  and  gave  him  the  magic  touch  that 
let  loose  the  sunshine  stored  away  in  days  when 
man  was  not,  —  he  alone  had  a  use  for  King  Coal, 
who  had  cleared  the  air  and  made  it  fit  to  be 
breathed  by  man. 

"  Now  put  me  on  the  grate,  House  Child,  push 
under  the  kindlings  to  give  the  magic  touch,  and 
hear  me  sing  the  song  of  those  old  days  that 
is  pent  up  within  me." 

Anne  carefully  laid  a    few  sticks  on   the   red 

ashes  and  placed  King  Coal  on  top.     The  wood 

blazed  and  the  lump  settled,  but  still  remained 

cold  and  black.     She  gave  it  a  sharp  blow  with 

1  Carbonic  era. 


144  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

the  poker,  and  instantly  King  Coal  quivered  and 
little  rivulets  of  flame  ran  down  his  sides  whis- 
pering strange  words.  Anne  listened  to  catch 
their  meaning,  but  they  spoke  swifter  than  the 
Winds'  Voices,  and  murmured  more  confusedly 
than  the  leaves  to  the  raindrops.  While  in  the 
smoke  that  went  up  the  chimney  she  saw  strange 
scenes  and  shapes  that  vanished,  until  a  puff  of 
smoke  driven  back  by  the  damp  chimney  made 
her  choke. 

"  Dearie  me !  ouf-ker-chew  !  If  the  gas  that 
coal  breathed  in  to  make  itself  was  as  bad  as  what 
it  breathes  out  in  unmaking,  I  don't  wonder  it 
took  Heart  of  Nature  a  long  time  to  pack  it  all 
away  to  bake  in  the  ground  and  give  the  sky  a 
good  cleaning. 

"  Oh,  there  is  the  sun  !  How  much  nicer  the 
old  dear  is  than  the  grandest  hearth  fire  ! 
Waddles,  Waddles,  wake  up  !  It  has  cleared  off 
and  Lumberlegs  is  whining  outside.  Come  out 
and  play  'snatch  bone.'  I'll  get  you  a  fine 
rib  from  yesterday's  beef  if  you'll  let  me  play 
too,  and  I'll  only  growl  and  run  without  snatch- 
ing." 

So  Anne  shut  the  cover  of  the  wood  box, 
pocketed  her  half-whittled  clothespin,  and  shook 
the  shavings  into  the  fire,  leaving  the  Kindling 


THE  COAL  TO  THE   KINDLING  WOOD        145 

Wood  wondering  how  long  it  would  have  taken 
for  it  to  turn  into  coal  if  it  had  not  been  split 
up  for  kindlings  —  a  question  which  neither  the 
Hearth  Cricket  nor  O-o-chug  could  answer. 


VII 


[EEWAYDIN  and  Wabun  were  abroad 
one  April  night,  running  a  race  for  mastery. 
Wabun,  the  East  Wind,  clad  himself  in  vapours 
and  clung  close  to  the  earth,  and  the  smell  of  the 
sea  was  heavy  in  his  garments ;  but  Keewaydin, 
the  wind  from  the  northeast  heights,  rose  higher 
and  drove  the  clouds  across  the  sky.  Whenever 
they  met  or  overtook  one  another  there  was  a 
wrestling  match  that  lashed  the  tree-tops,  making 

146 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA   GULL  147 

the  pines  sigh  with  pain,  and  even  wrenching  the 
joints  of  the  great  oaks  until  they  scolded  and 
complained. 

Anne  could  not  go  to  sleep  for  a  long  time 
that  night,  but  she  lay  quite  still  and  comfort- 
able, wondering  what  all  the  little  noises  meant, 
until  something  sounded  at  the  keyhole,  mur- 
mured in  the  chimney,  paused  at  the  window  a 
moment,  and  then  slipped  in  at  the  top  where 
the  sash  was  lowered. 

"The  Winds  of  Night,  the  Winds  of  Night, 
who  will  give  heed  to  us,  for  we  have  a  tale 
to  tell?" 

Anne  sat  up  in  bed  to  listen ;  the  breeze 
touched  her  cheek  and  ruffled  her  hair  rudely, 
so  she  quickly  nestled  down  again,  drawing  the 
coverlet  close  under  her  chin. 

"  Is  it  you,  Kabibonokka  ?  I  thought  the 
North  Wind  had  gone  home  to  stay  until  the 
next  Brush  Beacons  burn.  I  hope  you  haven't 
brought  Peboan  with  you,  because  the  Phoebe 
has  come,  the  Grouse  has  given  the  Spring  Signal, 
and  everything  believes  it;  the  Willow  has  waved 
some  yellow  wands,  and  all  the  other  trees  are 
hurrying  to  bud  out.  Baldy  has  taken  the 
covering  off  the  strawberries,  and  in  a  few  days, 
as  soon  as  he  can  cart  up  some  seaweed  from  the 


148  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

shore  to  dig  in  with  the  manure,  we  are  going  to 
plant  a  new  asparagus  bed.  It  takes  an  aspara- 
gus bed  ever  so  long  to  grow  big,  two  years  I 
think,  so  if  you  are  going  to  freeze  up  the  ground 
again  it  will  be  very  inconvenient  for  our  garden." 

"  Stop,  take  breath  and  listen,  Anne  !  It  is 
not  Kabibonokka  who  speaks.  It  is  I,  Wabun, 
the  Wind  of  open  places,  the  Wind  of  the  Sea, 
friend  of  Kayoshk',  the  Sea  Gull,  of  Mang,  the 
Loon,  and  of  Wawa,  the  Wild  Goose,  —  Wabun, 
the  East  Wind,  who  sings  the  Song  of  the  Sands. 
To-night  is  my  last  night  of  mastery  before  the 
Sea  also  gives  the  Spring  Sign  to  its  people  and 
gardens,  and  I  return  to  my  home  in  the  Morn- 
ing Star." 

"  Oh,  I'm  very  glad  that  it  is  you,  Wabun  ! 
I've  been  thinking  of  you  for  ever  so  long. 
Don't  you  remember  the  night  that  I  saw  the 
Brush  Beacons  burn,  you  promised  to  come  back 
and  sing  me  the  Song  of  the  Sea,  and  tell  me 
how  it  counts  the  sands  where  the  Plovers'  eggs 
lie  and  the  Sandpipers  dance  ?  I  was  afraid  that 
you  had  forgotten  all  about  it.  Does  the  Sea 
have  gardens  and  a  Spring  Signal  too  ?  And 
what  is  the  Signal,  Wabun  ? " 

"  Surely,  the  Sea  has  its  gardens.  Its  Spring 
Signal  is  the  call  of  the  first  northward  flying 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA  GULL 


149 


flock  of  Wild  Geese.  Hist !  the  cry  sounds 
even  now  afar.  Wawa's  shadowy  troop  is  pass- 
ing over  ;  I  go  to  give  them  news,  then  I  must 
wait  till  dawn  and  whisper  of  their  coming  in 
the  ear  of  Day. 

"  Meet  me  to-morrow,  Anne,  down  on  the  shore 
where  the  lighthouse  guards  the  rocks,  and  the 


long  sand  finger 
points  out  to  Sea,  and 
Kayoshk'  sings  his  song." 

"  Down  on  the  shore  !  To-morrow 
I  wonder  how  Wabun  expects  me  to  get  there," 
Anne  said  aloud.  "  Perhaps  he  thought  I  could 
go  down  with  Baldy  for  the  seaweed.  I  don't 
suppose  he  remembers  that  it  would  be  a  dread- 
fully long,  wet  ride  home,  and  mother  would  never 
let  me  go.  Twelve  miles  is  only  a  mere  hop  for 
the  East  Wind.  To-morrow  will  be  Thursday, 
too,  and  I  must  have  my  lessons.  I  do  so  wish 
I  could  hear  the  Gull's  Song,  and  see  some  of 
Wabun's  bird  friends,  because  when  we  go  down 
there  in  the  summer  they  are  all  gone,  and  last 
summer  we  didn't  go  anyway.  I  heard  father- 


150  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

mother  say  we  might  go  this  year  though,  because 
the  new  lighthouse  keeper  is  Baldy's  brother,  and 
he  isn't  to  live  in  the  light  in  summer,  but  in 
the  cottage  on  the  rocks.  His  wife  used  to  live 
with  Miss  Jule,  so  maybe  we  can  arrange  to  stay 
there  a  whole  month ;  but  that  will  be  too  late, 
I'm  afraid." 

The  door  opened  softly,  and  Anne  turned,  half 
expecting  that  Wabun  had  come  back,  but  it  was 
her  father,  who  said,  "  Did  I  waken  you?  It  is 
only  I,  little  Owl.  The  wind  is  blowing  so  strong 
from  the  east  that  I  was  afraid  it  might  chill  you, 
and  I  came  to  put  up  your  window." 

The  next  morning  was  bright  and  much  warmer. 
Oh,  what  a  day  to  go  to  the  shore.  As  she  was 
dressing,  Anne  saw  Baldy  harnessing  the  farm 
team,  fitting  the  high  sides  to  the  wagon,  and 
otherwise  preparing  for  an  early  start.  Yes, 
there  was  Obi,  who  was  going  also.  He  knew 
exactly  where  to  find  the  most  shells  ;  it  seemed 
cruel  to  have  to  stay  at  home.  But  Anne  never 
thought  of  teasing  her  mother  to  let  her  go,  be- 
cause she  knew  that  a  ride  home  on  damp  sea- 
weed was  a  "mustn't  be." 

However,  she  was  so  thoughtful  at  breakfast 
that  she  did  not  hear  Tommy  ask  her  to  take 


KAY08HK',  THE  SEA  GULL  151 

"  the  cap  off  his  egg  "  for  him,  and  did  not  notice 
when  a  groom  from  the  Horse  Farm  clattered  up 
to  the  side  door  and  a  note  was  handed  to  her 
mother,  who  read  it  and  handed  it  to  her  father 
with  a  little  nod  of  approval. 

"  Anne,"  he  said,  "  how  would  you  like  to  have 
a  holiday  now  instead  of  on  Saturday,  and  drive 
down  to  the  shore  with  Miss  Jule?  She  is  going 
to  carry  some  things  to  the  lightkeeper's  wife, 
and  she  thought  that  perhaps  you  had  never  seen 
the  beach  at  this  season,  when  the  Sea  Gulls  are 
there." 

Sometimes  when  Anne's  heart  was  too  full  for 
words,  she  could  only  clasp  her  hands  and  look 
what  she  felt,  and  this  was  one  of  those  speech- 
less joy  times. 

Tommy,  however,  was  affected  differently.  He 
dropped  the  egg  he  was  holding,  which  fortu- 
nately was  not  soft  enough  to  do  more  than  say 
"squnch,"  as  it  struck  the  table,  clapped  his 
hands  and  cried,  "I  don't  have  lessons,  so  of 
tourse  /  can  go  !  " 

"Waddles  isn't  going,"  said  Anne,  preparing 
to  soften  the  necessary  refusal. 

"  Then  I  s'pose  we'll  have  to  do  wifout  him," 
said  Tommy,  looking  ruefully  at  the  egg,  but 
thinking  only  of  the  excursion. 


152  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"Miss  Jule  did  not  ask  you,  dear,"  said  his 
mother.  "  She  is  going  in  the  little  road  wagon 
that  only  holds  a  passenger  and  a  half,  at  best ; 
it  is  a  long  ride,  and  it  would  make  you  too  tired 
to  go  to  the  shore  and  back  the  same  day." 

"  Oh  father-mother,"  he  begged,  with  sounds  of 
tears  in  his  voice,  "mayn't  Anne  go  down  and 
ask  please  for  Miss  Jule  to  go  in  a  bigger  wagon 
and  stay  all  night?  Miss  Jule  would  if  Anne 
begged;  'most  everybody  does,  even  dogs,"  he 
added,  showing  that  he  knew  his  sister's  gentle 
power. 

"  But,  Tommy,  that  is  because  Anne  does  not 
beg  for  greedy  things,"  said  his  mother,  smiling. 
"  Why  don't  you  have  a  picnic  for  the  dogs  this 
morning?"  she  suggested;  "there  are  some  nice 
beef  bones  that  they  would  enjoy  for  luncheon." 

"  Yes,"  added  Anne,  "  and  then  perhaps  they 
will  play  '  snatch  bone '  for  you ;  it's  a  very  nice 
game." 

"  Snatch  bone  !  I'd  like  that,"  said  Tommy, 
instantly  interested.  "  How  do  dogs  play  '  snatch 
bone'?" 

"  That's  their  secret,"  said  Anne ;  "  but  you 
take  them  over  to  the  grass  field  and  give  them 
the  bones,  and  after  they  have  eaten  the  meat  off 
you'll  see  the  game." 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA  GULL  153 

Miss  Jule  and  Anne  set  off  before  nine  o'clock. 
A  road  that  is  long  for  a  stout  farm  team  and  a 
springless  wagon  seems  short  for  a  thoroughbred 
horse  and  light  road  cart,  so  in  spite  of  many 
stops  to  look  at  this  and  that,  they  soon  overtook 
the  farm  team  and  reached  the  shore  a  full  half 
hour  before  noon. 

While  they  were  yet  some  distance  away  Anne 
could  hear  the  sound  of  the  water  and  see  the 
Gulls  sailing  to  and  fro.  Flocks  of  Crows  were 
going  down  over  the  marshes,  and  the  Meadow- 
larks  were  calling  everywhere. 

I  wonder  why  the  Gulls  and  Ducks  and  Sea 
Birds  never  come  to  celebrate  the  Anniversary  of 
Cock  Robin's  Funeral,"  said  Anne  half  aloud ;  then 
asked,  "Miss  Jule,  where  are  all  the  Sea  Birds  that 
make  Humpty  Dumpty  nests  when  the  Brother- 
hood of  Builders  are  at  work  in  the  garden  ?  " 

Miss  Jule  had  to  think  a  moment  in  order  to 
understand  exactly  what  Anne  meant.  In  talk- 
ing to  her  father,  mother,  and  this  dear  friend 
Anne  often  forgot  that  they  did  not  wear  the 
Magic  Spectacles,  for  the  three  always  sympathized 
with  her  and  seemed  to  know  her  thoughts. 

Just  then  they  left  the  road  and  turned  upon 
the  crisp  pebbles  of  the  beach,  and  Anne  forgot 
everything  else  in  the  sight  before  her. 


154  W  ABEND,   THE   MAGICIAN 

The  tide  was  half  low,  and  foamy  little  waves 
curled  along  the  sandbar  and  broke  upon  the 
beach ;  every  sand  island  left  bare  by  the  falling 
water  was  covered  with  Gulls,  while  others  flew 
calling  through  the  air,  and  flocks  of  Ducks  were 
continually  rising. 

"You  can  stay  here  awhile  and  watch  the 
birds,"  said  Miss  Jule,  "  and  when  you  are  tired 
come  up  the  back  of  the  rocks  to  the  lighthouse. 
I  will  go  in  to  see  Myra  and  ask  if  she  will  make 
us  some  of  her  famous  clam  fritters  for  luncheon." 

Anne  threw  herself  down  upon  the  beach  under 
the  shelter  of  a  ridge  bound  together  by  the 
strong  roots  of  sand  grass.  As  she  wore  a  gray 
ulster  and  cap,  she  seemed  to  disappear  and  be- 
come part  of  the  shore  itself. 

"I  was  afraid  that  you  would  not  come," 
called  Wabun  scurrying  across  the  bar,  driving 
the  sand  in  wheels  before  him.  "  The  Geese  are 
giving  the  Spring  Signal  of  the  Sea,  near  and 
far,  and  carrying  it  across  to  inland  waters  ;  the 
Shad  hasten  up  the  river  to  lay  their  eggs,  and 
the  hearts  of  all  Sea  Birds  beat  high  with  the 
thoughts  of  their  nesting  haunts  that  begin  to 
call  them  northward  with  the  Winds'  voices. 
See,  the  call  stirs  them  and  they  are  rising  and 
flying  boldly  by  day." 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA  GULL  155 

Anne  looked  up  and  saw  a  long  line  of  birds 
passing  over  ;  they  seemed  to  have  no  tails  and 
very  long  necks.  Suddenly  their  leader  gave  a 
hoarse  call  and  wheeled,  the  entire  flock  dropped 
near  a  marshy  pond  a  few  hundred  yards  back 
of  the  shore,  while  at  the  same  time  a  flock  of 
black,  white,  and  gray  Ducks  rose  from  the  other 
side  of  the  bar  and  lining  up  after  a  little  skir- 
mishing flew  close  above  the  water  almost  due 
northeast.  Anne  kept  perfectly  still  from  sheer 
amazement,  looking  first  at  the  sea  and  then  at 
the  sky.  Suddenly  a  Gull  with  a  pale  gray  coat 
and  black  wing  tips  flew  over  crying,  "Wake, 
a-wake-wake  !  "  and  suddenly  sank  to  the  sand 
close  by  Anne. 

"  I'm  awake,"  she  answered.  "  I  couldn't  possi- 
bly go  to  sleep  here  with  so  many  '  whys '  that  I 
want  to  know,  swimming  and  flying  around." 

"  You  must  be  the  friend  of  the  Winds  of  Night, 
— the  House  Child  who  wears  the  Magic  Specta- 
cles," said  the  bird,  "for  I  can  understand  your 
words  and  you  mine.  Wabun,  the  East  Wind, 
bade  me  find  you  and  tell  you  my  story.  I  am 
Kayoshk',  of  the  Red  Brothers,  the  bird  that 
House  People  call  the  Herring  Gull." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  speak  to  you,"  said  Anne, 
sitting  up,  as  she  saw  that  the  bird  was  not  afraid. 


156  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"I've  never  even  seen  any  of  you  until  to-day. 
Where  do  you  spend  the  summer,  and  why  do 
you  never  walk  with  the  Bird  Brotherhood  at  the 
Anniversary  of  Cock  Robin's  Funeral  ?  " 

"  Cock  Robin  !  I  never  heard  of  him,"  said 
the  Gull ;  "  he  must  have  been  a  Land  Bird, 
while  we,  Children  of  the  Sea,  have  different 
voices,  haunts,  and  habits.  The  only  anniver- 
sary we  celebrate  is  the  '  Death  of  the  Labrador 
Duck.'  " 

"  You've  never  heard  of  Cock  Robin,  and  I've 
never  heard  of  the  Labrador  Duck,  so  we're  even. 
Were  you  very  dear  friends,  and  did  you  live 
near  it  ?  Was  it  a  pretty  Duck,  or  good  to  eat, 
and  why  did  it  die  ?  " 

"  One  question  at  a  time,  if  you  please.  I 
think  I  must  tell  you  niy  story,  if  you  wish  to 
know  so  much  about  our  world. 

"  We  Sea  Birds  come  chiefly  from  the  far  north, 
where  the  North  and  East  Winds  rock  our  cradles. 
We  are  of  many  families,  whose  names  even  you 
could  not  remember,  —  Auks,  Puffins,  Petrels, 
Loons,  Grebes,  Sea  Ducks,  Terns,  and  many 
others  besides.  Though  we  are  of  different  tribes, 
one  thing  unites  us  —  the  love  of  the  water." 

"  Auks ! "  cried  Anne,  joyfully ;  "  then  you  must 
know  '  His  Grace,  the  Great  Auk,'  who  ran  away 


KAYOSHK',  THE   SEA   GULI  157 

on  a  bicycle  from  the  Smithsonian  Institute  to 
come  to  the  Forest  Circus.  Only  he  was  very 
dry  and  dusty,  and  said  that  he  was  so  rare  and 
had  been  dead  so  long  that  he  was  worth  hun- 
dreds of  dollars." 

"  You  don't  tell  me  that  you've  really  seen  one 
of  those  preposterous  birds,"  said  Kayoshk',  very 
much  interested.  "  Now,  though  I'm  a  Sea  Bird, 
I've  only  heard  of  them,  for  they've  all  been 
dead  these  fifty  years  and  more;  but  their  first 
cousins,  the  Razor-billed  Auks,  that  live  near 
us  in  the  north,  and  come  down  the  coast  visiting 
with  us  every  winter,  are  always  bragging  about 
these  big  relations  of  theirs,  and  I  never  really 
believed  before  that  there  ever  were  such  things. 
Did  the  Great  Auk  that  you  saw  tell  you  what 
became  of  him?" 

"  He  didn't  say  himself,  because  you  know, 
as  he  was  stuffed,  he  didn't  talk  much;  but 
Ko-ko-ko-ho,  the  big  Horned  Owl,  said  His  Grace 
died  because  he  sat  still  in  one  place  so  long  that 
he  lost  the  use  of  his  wings,  and  people  came  and 
caught  him.  I  remember,  too,  that  one  of  the 
Puk-Wudjies  made  fun  of  him,  and  he  got  very 
angry." 

"People  came  and  caught  him"  repeated  the 
Gull,  sadly;  "that  is  the  reason  for  the  ending 


158 


WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 


of  so  many  Bird  families.  That  is  the  reason 
why  we  Water  Birds,  who  must  live  in  the  open, 
and  trust  our  eggs  to  the  care  of  the  sun 
and  sky,  grow  more  and  more  wild  and 
shy,  and  huddle  closer  and  closer  to  the 
rock  ledges  and  lonely  island  coves  of  the 
far  north,  where  we  vainly  hope  people 
may  not  come  and  catch  us.  Few  of  us 
mariners  may  seek  the  shelter  of  trees  for 
our  nests ;  our  family  sometimes  does  so, 
but  many  others  place  their  hopes  in  wind 
and  water. 

"The  first  thing  that  I  remember  was 
when  I  was  running  about  a  sandy  beach 
at  the  foot  of  a  ledge  of  rocks.     The  tide 
floated  up   nice    jelly   food,    which    I    ate 
ravenously.      Many  other  young 
birds,  like  myself,  were 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA  GULL  159 

walking  about,  feeding,  or  taking  short  flying  and 
swimming  lessons  in  company  with  their  elders, 
while  everywhere  on  the  sand,  in  shallow  nests  of 
seaweeds  and  grass,  were  mottled  gray  and  brown 
eggs  from  which  more  Gulls  would  hatch  in  due 
time. 

"It  was  a  pleasant  life  we  led  in  those  days. 
I  remember  how  I  admired  my  parents  in  their 
beautiful  light  gray  summer  coats,  with  black 
markings  on  the  wing  tips,  lovely,  soft  white 
breasts,  and  fine  yellow  bills,  and  I  wondered 
why  I  had  to  wear  such  a  mixed-up  gray  and 
brown  pinafore.  But  I  learned  before  winter 
came,  and  my  parents  put  on  their  streaked 
travelling  hoods,  that  I  should  not  wear  the 
pearly  gray  and  white  costume  until  I  was  fully 
grown." 

"  Then,"  interrupted  Anne,  "  I  suppose  those 
dark  Gulls  over  on  the  shoals  are  young  birds. 
I  thought  they  were  the  females,  because  you  see, 
Kayoshk',  a  great  many  females  among  land  birds 
do  not  wear  as  pretty  feathers  as  their  mates." 

"  It  is  so  with  many  of  the  Ducks,"  he  replied ; 
"  but  with  us  long- winged  swimmers  the  males 
and  females  dress  alike. 

"  As  I  was  saying,  we  had  gay  times  and  good 
feeding  that  season.  Well  I  remember  the  morn- 


160 


WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 


ing  in  autumn,  the  first  time  I  made  a  long  flight 
with  the  flock  out  to  the  fishing  grounds.  The 
fog  shut  down  suddenly  when  we  were  nearly 
there,  and  we  sank  to  rest  on  the  water,  waiting 
for  the  mist  to  rise.  Presently  it  lifted  a  little, 
the  sun  shining  softly  through  it.  There  were 
boats  on  every  side  and  men  pulling  in  nets 
heavy  with  fish.  I  was  afraid,  but  all  the  other 
Gulls  arose,  and  calling  joyfully,  began  to  feast 
upon  the  scraps  of  fish  that  floated  past. 
Many  times  have  I  followed  the  boats  in 
the  fishing  ground,  and  in  the 
wake  of  ships ;  but  never  since 
have  I  tasted  food  like  the  fish 
of  that  first  festival. 

"When     autumn    came    we 
moved  from  our  summer  home 


AT  THE  FISHING  GROUNDS 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA   GULL  161 

and  travelled  about  in  flocks  wherever  the  feeding 
was  good,  gradually  going  southward  until  we 
reached  this  beach,  where  my  parents  had  spent 
several  winters.  Then  I  met  many  of  the  other 
Sea  Bird  Brothers  travelling  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, and  often  when  fog  came  suddenly  we  slept 
in  parties,  floating  on  the  water,  so  many  of  us 
being  together  that  we  seemed  a  floating  island 
of  feathers." 

"  Can  birds  sleep  afloat  ?  "  cried  Anne.  "  I 
should  think  they  would  tip  over  and  sink  and 
be  very  cold  besides.  Isn't  it  dangerous?" 

"  Oh  no,  we  sleep  as  comfortably  as  the  Eider 
Duck  sitting  at  home  on  her  down  nest,  and  as 
for  cold,  —  why,  only  this  last  winter  I  have 
watched  the  Sea  Ducks  rise  from  a  night's 
sleep  splashing  merrily  almost  among  caked  ice. 
Dangerous  !  it  is  not  the  water  and  the  cold 
that  offer  us  harm,  but  people,  always  people." 

"  People  !  but  how  could  people  reach  Ducks 
hidden  in  fog  and  afloat  in  open  water  ?  " 

"  By  learning  their  sleeping  haunts,  creeping 
silently  along  in  boats,  and  when  the  fog  lifts 
firing  ruthlessly  upon  the  dazed  flocks  as  they 
leave  the  water  in"  panic.  I  have  seen  it  all  and 
so  I  know  that  what  I  say  is  true. 

"  But  there  is  pleasure   as  well   as   danger  in 

M 


162  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

our  wanderings.  Oh,  if  you  only  knew  the  joy 
of  flying  races  with  our  friends  the  Winds,  on 
fogless  days  when  the  sky  is  gray  and  the  Sea 
breathes  hard! 

"  The  Winds  whistle  defiance  and  we  give  it 
back  note  for  note,  soaring,  buffeting,  and  scream- 
ing for  joy.  You  hear  my  tribe  calling  now  far 
and  near  about  this  bay.  Are  not  their  cries 
those  of  the  Wind  in  the  ship's  rigging  and  the 
echo  of  the  bos'n's  whistle  ? 

"  We  have  heard  the  Spring  Signal  of  Wawa, 
the  Wild  Goose,  and  our  hearts  throb  in  re- 
sponse ;  one  by  one  we  shall  start  on  our  north- 
ward journey  when  Shaw  Shaw,  the  Swallow, 
leaves  his  tropic  winter  haunts  and  returns  to 
your  barns." 

"  Do  you  know  Shaw  Shaw  ? "  cried  Anne ; 
"why,  he  is  as  much  a  land  bird  as  Cock  Robin." 

"  That  may  be,  but  I  have  met  his  flocks 
journeying  by  moonlight  in  the  sea  path  and  often 
warned  him  against  the  lighthouse  windows  in 
his  course,  so  we  are  friends.  Many  such  friends 
we  have  met  in  our  wanderings ;  other  Gulls 
too,  cousins  of  different  families,  sometimes  join 
the  winter  flocks. 

"  Ah !  going  back  to  that  first  season,  how  well 
I  remember  one  lovely  Gull  that  flew  with  me  ; 


KAYOSHK',   THE  SEA  GULL  163 

she  was  of  another  tribe,  —  the  Kitti  wakes, — who 
hold  themselves  much  higher  than  the  Herring 
Gulls,  building  their  nests  in  rock  ledges  and 
flying  with  the  dash  and  grace  of  Sea  Swallows. 

"  What  a  dainty  creature  she  was,  to  be  sure, 
—  no  larger  than  a  Pigeon.  When  I  met  her 
she  was  wearing  her  winter  coat  of  gray  and 
white  with  a  gray  hood,  and  black-tipped  wings. 
How  beautiful  she  will  be  in  her  whiter  summer 
headgear,  I  thought.  I  shall  keep  near  her  and  ask 
her  to  be  my  mate  when  Wawa  gives  the  Signal." 

"  Why  didn't  you  ask  her  then  ?  " 

"Among  birds  it  is  against  the  law  to  ask 
promises  in  autumn  ;  we  must  wait  until  spring  : 
but  when  spring  came  her  flock  had  separated 
from  ours  and  I  could  not  find  her.  I  asked 
every  Sea  Bird  I  met,  and  finally  I  told  my 
story  to  an  Old  Squaw  Duck  who  seemed  to 
know  the  business  of  everybody  from  the  Arctic 
Circle  to  Delaware  Bay. 

" '  E'unk,  e'unk  !  '  she  scolded,  wagging  her 
head  and  splashing  about  as  she  spoke.  '  How 
can  you  be  so  foolish  ?  Don't  you  know  that  a 
Kittiwake  may  not  mate  with  a  Herring  Gull  ? 
It's  impossible  !  Both  tribes  would  turn  you 
out  and  then  you  would  have  no  home  grounds 
and  your  children  would  be  sea  tramps.' 


164  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

"  So  I  said  no  more.  On  the  way  home  I 
met  a  very  pleasant  Gull  who  was  hatched  three 
nests  above  mine  on  our  beach  ;  she  wasn't  as 
graceful  as  Miss  Kittiwake,  but  we  had  played 
together  on  the  sand  as  children,  and  we  both 
liked  the  same  feeding  grounds,  so  after  we 
reached  home  and  celebrated  the  Anniversary  of 
the  Labrador  Duck,  we  mated  and  set  up  nest- 
keeping." 

"But  you  haven't  told  me  who  the  Labrador 
Duck  was,  and  how  it  came  to  die." 

"  To  be  sure  !  It  happened  long  before  my 
day,  in  the  time  of  my  very  great-grandmother,  I 
believe,  when  there  were  more  birds  than  people 
along  this  coast,  and  it  was  safe  for  Gulls  to  nest 
in  almost  any  place  they  fancied. 

"  The  Labrador  Duck  was  a  handsome  bird, 
who  used  to  travel  with  the  Gulls  on  their  winter 
journeys  as  far  south  as  this  beach,  always  being 
very  pleasant  and  sociable. 

"  One  autumn  none  of  these  Ducks  joined  the 
flocks.  The  Old  Squaws  scolded  and  said,  '  Sly 
things,  they  have  stolen  a  march  on  us.'  But 
all  that  winter  not  one  was  seen  ;  none  joined 
the  northward  flight  in  spring. 

"  The  Kittywakes  had  not  seen  them,  nor 
Mang,  the  Loon,  nor  the  wide  flying  Wawas.  A 


KAYOSHK',    THE   SEA   GULL  165 

snow  cloud,  drifting  from  the  Arctic  Zone,  said, 
'  They  were  not  there ' ;  the  Rosy  Tern,  fresh  from 
the  southern  gulf  said,  'They  were  not  there.' 
Then,  as  we  slept  floating,  the  Winds  of  Night 
whispered,  '  They  are  all  dead. ' 

"  So  in  the  morning  the  Gulls  arose,  crying  with 
grief  for  their  comrades  as  they  settled  round  the 
nesting  sites,  and  we  do  this  every  year,  and 
every  sailor  knows  the  sound." 

"  What  became  of  the  Ducks?  Did  they  sit  still 
and  lose  their  wings  like  His  Grace,  the  Auk  ?  " 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  for  not  one  of 
us  knows,  not  even  the  oldest  Old  Squaw. 
They  never  sat  still,  and  their  flesh  was  not  sweet 
to  the  taste  of  man  ;  yes,  you  must  ask  Wabeno." 

"  Haven't  you  any  other  celebrations  that  aren't 
quite  so  sad  ?  "  asked  Anne ;  "  something  like  the 
Forest  Circus  or  the  Brush  Beacons  ?  " 

"  Not  among  the  Sea  Birds,  but  the  Sea  People 
have  one ;  every  summer  when  the  Crabs  cast 
their  shells  they  have  the  Shedding  Dance,  and 
that  is  a  very  funny  thing." 

"  Oh,  where  do  they  dance  it,  —  on  the  beach  ?  " 

"  In  the  Highways  under  the  Sea  at  the  spot 
where  high  and  low  tide  meet.  If  you  want  to 
see  the  dance  come  here  when  the  July  moon  is 
new  and  find  that  spot  and  —  wait ! 


166  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  But  now  to  return  to  my  mate.  For  a  while 
everything  went  well ;  there  were  many  nests  on 
our  shore  that  summer,  but  one  day  when  we 
returned  together  from  the  feeding  grounds  every- 
thing was  in  commotion  ;  the  parent  Gulls  were 
dashing  about  screaming  wildly,  for  there  was 
not  a  sound  egg  or  young  Gull  left  on  the  place, 
and  the  sand  was  spattered  with  broken  shells. 

" '  House  People  have  been  here  and  robbed  us ; 
we  must  go  on  again,'  wailed  an  old  Gull  who 
had  seen  many  summers  and  moved  many  times. 
'I  advise  all  Gulls  who  are  young  enough  to 
change  their  habits  to  learn  to  build  their  nests 
in  trees,  like  the  wise  Fish  Hawks,  for  soon  there 
will  be  no  beaches  where  we  may  lodge  safe  from 
the  eye  of  man.' 

"Then  all  the  Gulls  began  to  cry  louder  and 
louder  with  grief  at  the  thought  of  leaving  the 
pleasant  beach  that  was  the  birthplace  of  so  many 
of  us." 

Kayoshk'  paused  and  looked  seaward  rather 
anxiously.  Anne  noticed  that  the  farm  team 
had  driven  up  the  beach  and  that  Baldy  and  Obi 
behind  the  crest  were  shovelling  the  sand  from 
the  stack  of  seaweed  that  they  had  gathered  in 
the  autumn,  before  the  snow. 


KAYOSHK',    THE   SEA   GULL  167 

Suddenly  Kayoshk'  gave  a  cry  and  wheeled 
over  the  water,  calling,  "  Wake-wake-wake  !  " 
Every  Gull  took  wing  and  the  Ducks  disappeared 
like  a  flash,  some  by  diving  and  some  by  flight, 
and  not  a  minute  too  soon,  for  "  Bang  !  bang  ! 
bang  ! "  echoed  across  the  bay  as  a  flat-bottomed 
sharpie  slipped  round  the  point  into  the  shallow 
water. 

"  A-wake  !  wake  !  a-wake  !  "  laughed  the  Her- 
ring Gulls,  now  safely  out  of  reach. 

Anne  sat  perfectly  still  for  a  few  moments. 
Were  the  sands  singing  a  song?  It  seemed  so. 
No,  it  was  Wabun  whispering  among  them  and 
whirling  the  dead  grasses  around  on  their  stalks 
until  they  made  sharp  circles  on  the  sand,  like 
the  marks  of  a  compass. 

"  Water  and  I  made  the  sands,"  chanted  Wabun. 
"  My  brothers,  the  North  and  the  South  and  the 
West  Winds,  —  we  worked  together.  We  dried 
and  bleached  the  rocks,  rain  crept  in  and  wore 
and  tore  and  froze  and  pried  and  powdered  them. 
We  blew  this  powder  aloft,  whirling  it,  driving 
it,  heaping  it,  scattering  it,  the  rivers  swept  it 
along,  cut  it  away  from  the  banks,  and  piled  it 
on  the  sea  bottom,  and  the  sea  tossed  it  back 
to  land  and  piled  the  beaches,  then  beat  against 


168 


WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 


the  hard  rocks  until  they  also  crumbled.     Water 
and  I  made  the  sands  and  we  rule  them." 

"  That  seems  to  be  true,"  said  Anne  to  herself ; 

"  the  tide  has  piled 
up  the  sand  and 
little  stones  to 
make  the  bar,  and 
it  is  wearing  down 
the  reef  rocks 
where  the  light- 
house stands,  and 
up  at  home  by  the 
river  the  water  has 
cut  a  path  through 
the  rocks,  and  on 


top  it  is  crumbling, 
and    father    said 
that  rock  was 
'/..:••..  'weathered 
••V;-..     badly,' 
'"•*;•£&     and     of 

\' r         course 

>'  ' 

wind  is  a 
great  part 
of  weather." 
Anne  began  to 
feel     stiff,    and 


KAYOSHK',   THE   SEA  GULL  169 

when  she  stood  up,  as  she  was  going  toward  Baldy 
and  Obi,  the  wind  blew  her  about,  and  she  looked 
toward  the  light  where  in  truth  Miss  Jule  was 
signalling  to  her. 

Then  as  she  climbed  up  the  rocks,  thinking  of 
Kayoshk'  and  wondering  if  she  would  be  at  the 
beach  to  see  the  Shedding  Dance,  a  delightful 
smell  came  to  her,  mingling  with  the  sea  salt,  as 
she  neared  the  light.  "  What  could  it  be  ?  " 

"  Clam  fritters !  "  called  Miss  Jule,  waving  her 
handkerchief  from  the  doorway,  while  Anne 
laughed  so  heartily  at  this  surprising  answer  to 
her  thoughts  that  she  almost  slid  back  upon  the 
sand. 


VIII 


(1)009 


UDJEKEEWIS  and  Shawonda- 
see  finally  came  to  stay,  and 
signs  of  their  housekeeping 
could  be  seen  everywhere.  Not 
that  they  built  houses  for  themselves  of 
wood  and  stone,  or  even  set  up  wigwams,  or  made 
cave  homes,  like  the  Beast  Brotherhood,  for  what 
could  such  errant  bachelors  as  the  South  and 
West  Winds  do  with  homes  ? 

No,  they  simply  roved  about,  whispering  the 
news  of  their  good  intentions  in  the  Flower  Mar- 
ket and  through  the  tree-tops.  Instantly  the 
Brotherhoods  heard  the  message.  Soon  Anem- 
ones nodded  boldly,  and  shy  Violets  lifted  their 
pale  faces.  Wake  Robin  awoke  so"  suddenly  and 
pushed  so  hastily  through  the  ground  that  his  face 

170 


THE   PLANTING   MOON 


171 


was  a  purplish  red  and  his  veins  stood  out  with 
the  exertion.  Dandelions  were  strewn  so  thickly 
over  the  rich  green  lawn  grass  that  one  would 
really  think  Heart  of  Nature  must  have  a  hole  in 
his  pocket  through  which  golden  coins  dropped 
whenever  he  walked  to  and  fro  to  watch  his 
garden. 

The  trees  hung  out  their  green  draperies,  and 
the  brightly  coloured  birds  hearing  this  good  news 
from  Amoe,  the  Honey  Bee,  who  carries  messages 
swiftly  and  directly,  came  trooping  back,  —  Tana- 
gers,  Indigo  Buntings,  Rose-breasts,  Bobolinks, 
Redstarts,  Warblers,  and  all  the  rest,  while  who 
should  Anne  discover  stealing  some  bits  of  string 
that  had  blown  out  of  the  tool  house,  but  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  B.  Oriole. 

Planting  was  the  chief  occupation  at  Happy 
Hall  at  this  time,  even  though  the  Planting  Moon 


172  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

of  the  Red  Brothers  was  May,  and  this  was  the 
last  day  of  April.  For  weeks  past  Baldy  and  the 
farm  horses  had  been  continually  ploughing  the  rich 
brown  soil  of  the  various  fields  into  furrows,  only 
to  smooth  it  down  again  with  the  harrow.  The 
flower  beds  were  raked  smooth  and  the  vegetable 
garden  already  showed  rows  of  green  points  where 
peas,  lettuce,  and  radishes  were  sprouting,  as  well 
as  lines  in  the  earth  where  more  were  to  be 
planted. 

"I'm  sure  of  one  thing,"  said  Anne  to  herself  as 
she  raked  her  own  particular  garden  spot  over  for 
the  third  time,  and  it  still  looked  bumpy,  "  Heart 
of  Nature  doesn't  have  half  the  trouble  about 
getting  his  garden  in  order  that  we  House  People 
do.  His  ground  is  always  ready  and  the  winds 
and  birds  and  things  carry  the  seeds  about.  He 
doesn't  have  to  bother  with  manure  or  straight 
lines  —  or  anything. 

"  Deary  me,  I  think  I'll  just  sit  down  and  grub 
with  my  hands, — this  rake  is  of  no  use ;  it  won't 
make  an  even  mark,  and  if  I  plant  my  Radishes 
so,  they  will  be  all  up  and  down  hill.  This  earth 
is  so  hard  I  think  it  must  be  frozen  underneath," 
and  poor  Anne  began  to  beat  the  ground  with  the 
rake  in  despair  of  ever  getting  it  smooth. 

"  Patience,  patience,"  said  a  strong,  gentle  voice 


THE   PLANTING  MOON  173 

coming  from  the  ground.  "  Nothing  in  the  wild 
garden  of  Heart  of  Nature  or  in  the  home  gar- 
den of  Heart  of  Man  is  grown  without  toil  ;  in 
this  the  two  Hearts  work  together  in  Brotherhood. 
It  is  because  you  are  trying  to  make  your  garden 
without  labour  that  you  are  failing,  House  Child. '? 

Anne  stopped  beating  the  earth  and  looked  very 
much  ashamed;  she  had  not  thought  that  Heart 
of  Nature  was  so  near, — in  fact,  she  had  been  work- 
ing altogether  without  thinking. 

"  Has  your  bed  been  well  dug  over?"  continued 
the  voice ;  "  has  the  earth  been  loosened  and 
turned  to  the  air  so  that  it  may  breathe?" 

Anne  knew  perfectly  well  that  her  father  had 
told  her  that  Obi  might  dig  the  bed  as  soon  as  he 
came  from  school,  but  she  was  in  a  hurry  and  had 
not  chosen  to  wait,  so  she  only  answered  very 
softly,  "  No,  but  I  see  Obi  coming  up  the  hill  and 
I'll  get  him  to  do  it  now,  so  please  wait  a  minute, 
dear  Heart  of  Nature,  and  help  me  to  make  my 
rows  even." 

Obi  came  bringing  a  spade  and  a  stout  garden 
fork.  In  a  very  short  time  the  manure  was  scat- 
tered and  forked  in,  the  soil  turned  over  with  the 
spade,  forked  again  to  mix  all  well,  and  then  raked 
smooth. 

"  That  looks  something  like,"  said  Obi,  briefly, 


174  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

proceeding  to  do  the  same  to  Tommy's  bit  of 
ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  path. 

"  Of  course  it's  much  nicer  and  even  and 
smooth,  but  you  don't  have  to  dig  your  garden, 
do  you,  Heart  of  Nature  ? "  asked  Anne,  doubt- 
fully. 

"  I  do  not  dig  it  with  a  spade  shaped  like 
yours,  but  I  have  ploughs  that  you  cannot  see, 
working  summer  and  winter,  in  seed  time  and 
in  harvest,  in  my  garden.  Remember,  not  only 
do  I  dig  and  plough  the  earth,  but  the  Plan 
decrees  that  I  must  also  make  the  soil." 

"  Make  it !  Why,  I  thought  that  was  what  the 
whole  world  is  made  of ;  that  there  was  plenty  of 
it,  miles  deep,"  cried  Anne  in  amazement. 

"  What  are  those  hard  lumps  that  Obi  has  raked 
from  the  bed,  and  those  gray  blocks  of  which  the 
fence  is  built  ?  " 

"  Why,  stones,  to  be  sure." 

"  Yes,  and  where  do  they  come  from  ?  " 

"They  are  broken  bits  of  rock.  I'm  sure  of 
that,  because  some  of  the  stones  in  the  front  fence 
exactly  match  the  great  rocks  in  the  woods  up  on 
the  hill." 

"  And  what  are  rocks  made  of  ?  " 

"  Rocks  —  rocks  —  they  —  oh,  yes,  I  remember, 
—  they  are  bits  of  earth,  —  hardened  earth,  I 


THE   PLANTING   MOON  175 

guess,"  said  Anne,  jumping  at  a  conclusion,  and 
missing. 

"  Listen,  Anne  ;  though  rocks  are  in  one  way  the 
hardened  crust  of  the  molten  fluid  that  formed  the 
earth,  they  are  now  its  skeleton,  the  framework 
that  holds  the  seas  and  land  together ;  and  what 
you  call  earth  or  soil,  in  which  trees  and  plants 
grow,  is  made  of  these  rocks  turned  to  powder. 
This  is  my  labour,  to  grind  the  flinty  rock  and 
prepare  it  to  yield  food  for  man;  yet  you  say  my 
gardening  is  easy.  How  do  I  do  it  ?  By  using 
the  great  password  Brotherhood — alone  I  could 
do  nothing. 

"Heat,  Cold,  Wind,  and  Water  are  my  aids. 
Heat  and  Cold  rend  and  split  the  rocks ;  Wind 
and  Water  loosen  the  split  fragments  and  carry 
them  away,  or  beat  upon  them  until  they  powder 
and  decay,  dropping  into  particles. 

"  The  Flower  Market  works  with  me  also,  and 
the  great  trees  both  drop  their  leaves  to  add  their 
rich  mould  to  the  sandy  grains,  and  also  reach 
their  root  fingers  in  between  the  stones  and  into 
rock  crevices  to  break  them  further  open.  In 
this  way  soil  is  made  out  of  stone,  and  is  carried 
on  continually  by  streams  and  rivers  to  fill  bare 
places  and  make  new  wild  gardens. 

"  Then,  too,  my  ploughs  are  ever  working   in 


176  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

my  garden  where  the  soil  is  made.  You  know 
how  frost  upheaves  earth  and  stones.  Have  you 
thought  how  earthworms  work  day  and  night 
pushing  and  ploughing  to  let  air  into  the  soil's 
lungs,  and  keep  it  sweet  and  wholesome?" 

As  Anne  stood  thinking  and  turning  over  her 
packages  of  seeds  with  the  toes  of  her  shoes, 
there  came  a  sound  of  galloping  accompanied 
by  a  shout  and  a  loud  baying,  and  Tommy,  Wad- 
dles, and  Lumberlegs  came  cantering  across  the 
grass  from  the  barn,  barely  escaped  tumbling  into 
the  nicely  raked  bed,  and  falling  in  a  heap  in  the 
walk,  made  for  a  minute  a  whirlpool,  consisting 
of  a  white  and  a  brown  dog,  little  boy  blue,  a 
water-pot,  a  rake,  and  a  salt  bag  full  of  seed 
papers. 

"  Waddles  !  Lumberlegs  !  down,  down  close  !  " 
ordered  Anne. 

Waddles  obeyed  at  once,  and  Lumberlegs  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  bed  of  fresh  earth,  for  he  as- 
sociated such  a  bed  with  the  one  whipping  of  his 
short  life.  This  was  a  very  hopeful  sign,  as  an 
ability  to  put  two  and  two  together  and  remember 
the  result  will  often  save  young  animals  of  all 
sorts  from  being  punished. 

"  I  was  afraid  you'd  begin  to  plant  before  I 
came,"  panted  Tommy,  picking  himself  up,  "  and 


THE   PLANTING  MOON  177 

then  your  garden  would  grow  firstest,  and  you'd 
have  things  to  bring  to  father-mother  before  I 
had  anyfin."  (Tommy  seldom  used  baby  words, 
but  he  had  not  yet  mastered  £,  and  a  few  other 
letters.) 

"  Say,  Anne,  if  your  fings  gwrow  first,  may  I 
take  them  to  father-mother  wifyou?" 

"  To  be  sure,  but  what  are  you  going  to  plant  ? 
Oh,  you  mustn't  put  Squashes  by  your  Rose- 
bush ;  they  will  cover  it  up  !  Why  do  you  care 
for  Squashes?  They  will  crowd  everything  else." 

"  I  like  the  nice  big  yellow  Stwash  flowers  they 
have  vely  much,  and  bees  like  them  too,  and,  Anne, 
I'll  tell  you  a  secret,  only  come  close  'cause  I'm 
sure  Waddles  can  hear  and  he'd  tell  Lumber- 
legs  and  then  he'd  go  down  and  tell  Miss  Jule. 
You  know  these  Stwashes  will  be  like  those 
funny  yellow,  curly,  goose-necked  ones  that 
Baldy  had  last  year.  Well,  Mrs.  Baldy  put 
legs  on  two  and  chicken  feathers  for  wings  and 
tails  and  top-knots  and  nice  black  beans  for  eyes, 
and  put  them  on  her  kitchen  shelf  for  lovely 
ornaments.  So  I'm  doin'  to  drow  Stwashes  and 
make  two  of  those  lovely  deese  for  Miss  Jule's 
birfday,  so  she  can  put  them  in  the  big  room 
on  the  shelf  by  the  music  clock.  Don't  you  fink 
she'll  be  vely  glad  ?  " 


178  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"I  think  she  will  like  them  better  than  any- 
thing else  you  could  make  her  ;  she  loves  queer 
funny  things,"  said  Anne,  heartily,  remembering 
that  she  herself  had  been  devoted  to  animals 
made  of  vegetables  a  few  years  before,  and  also 
thinking  of  the  result,  when  she  had  shut  up  a 
squash  goose,  a  carrot  pig,  and  two  turnip  Brown- 
ies in  a  closet  and  forgotten  them  for  a  month. 

"  Not  funny,"  insisted  Tommy,  looking  hurt 
as  Anne  continued  to  laugh,  "  b-e-a-utif ul  !  How 
many  seeds  will  be  'nough  to  plant,  do  you  fink  ? 
Baldy  gave  me  ten." 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do,  Tommy ;  plant  five 
of  them  in  a  row  at  the  back  of  your  bed,  and 
we  will  train  the  vines  on  the  fence  so  they  won't 
eat  up  all  your  garden.  No  !  don't  dig  big  holes ; 
I'll  lend  you  this  pointed  clothespin  planter  that 
Obi  whittled  for  me.  See,  it  makes  a  dear  little 
hole,  or  a  straight  line,  whichever  you  like." 

"  Oh,  I  want  a  planter  of  my  vely  own.  If  I 
do  up  to  the  house  to  det  a  tlothespin,  will  you 
fix  it  for  me  wif  your  jack-knife  ?  My  knife  is 
a  silly  little  fing  and  its  back  bends  and  it's  only 
dot  a  tin  blade.  Miss  Jule's  doin'  to  buy  me  a 
real  knife  if  I  promise  to  keep  it  at  her  house 
till  I  can  whittle  straight,  and  'member  after  that 
not  to  put  it  in  my  pocket  when  it's  open,  or  run 


THE   PLANTING  MOON  179 

wif  it.  I'm  doin'  to  promise  pretty  soon,  I  guess; 
I  fought  I'd  just  wait  a  little  and  perhaps  she'd 
buy  it  anyway." 

Tommy  brought  a  clothespin,  which  was  soon 
pointed  to  his  satisfaction,  and  the  work  of  plant- 
ing began.  Anne  put  a  row  of  Sweet  Peas  at 
the  back  of  her  bed,  then  a  row  of  tall  Zinnias, 
then  dwarf  Nasturtiums,  blue  Bachelor  Buttons, 
and  Mignonette,  all  in  fairly  straight  rows. 
Around  the  edge  she  planted  Radishes,  sprinkling 
the  seed  very  economically  to  make  it  hold  out. 

"  There,"  she  said,  after  setting  the  seed  paper 
on  a  stick  at  the  head  of  each  row,  "  when  the 
Radishes  grow  and  we've  eaten  them,  mother  is 
going  to  give  me  some  of  the  little  plants  from 
the  hot-bed,  four  Geraniums  for  the  corners,  and 
a  Heliotrope,  a  Fuchsia,  and  some  Pinks  for  in 
between." 

Meanwhile  Tommy  had  planted  a  row  of  Bush 
Beans,  and  in  front  of  them  a  row  of  mixed  Peas 
that  he  had  taken  at  random  from  the  various 
packages  in  the  tool  house. 

"  You  should  put  the  Peas  behind  the  Beans, 
for  they  will  grow  ever  so  much  taller,"  prompted 
Anne. 

"The  Bean  seeds  are  the  biggest,"  said  Tommy, 
stoutly.  "I'm  doin'  to  put  the  big  seeds  back- 


180  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

most  and  end  off  wif  dese  funny  Parsley  ones 
down  by  the  edge." 

So  Anne  said  nothing,  for,  thought  she,  what 
is  the  use  of  having  a  very  own  garden  if  you 
can't  plant  it  as  you  like.  You  might  as  well 
go  and  look  at  the  big  garden  where  everything 
grows  and  behaves  as  it  ought. 

Tommy  finished  his  labours  by  planting  a  large 
Onion  at  each  corner  of  the  bed,  and  a  whole 
Potato  and  two  Carrots  in  the  spaces  between. 
Then  both  children  picked  up  their  tools,  and 
bidding  the  dogs  "come  along,"  went  down 
toward  the  barn. 

Lumberlegs  seemed  very  much  pleased  at  hav- 
ing come  away  from  the  flower  beds  in  safety, 
and  expressed  his  joy  by  a  vigorous  wagging  of 
the  tail,  in  which  his  hind  legs  took  part,  and  in 
rolling  on  the  ground  with  his  legs  straight  in 
the  air,  looking  like  a  very  clumsy  table  having 
a  fit.  He,  however,  considered  it  a  very  beauti- 
ful performance ;  it  is  strange  what  ideas  of 
beauty  young  animals  have. 

Waddles,  feeling  quite  pleased  at  the  way  in 
which  his  pupil  had  resisted  the  temptation  to 
roll  in  the  beds,  trotted  along  contentedly,  never 
giving  Anne  a  hint  that  he  saw  the  Miller's  cat 
stealing  toward  the  chicken  house.  However, 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  181 

just  before  the  party  reached  the  barn-yard  gate, 
Waddles  gave  Lumberlegs  a  wink  and  the  pair 
turned  off  around  the  corner. 

Baldy  was  unhooking  the  horses  from  the  big 
wagon  in  which  he  had  brought  the  toothed 
harrow  from  the  fields,  while  the  Swallows  were 
flying  in  and  out  of  the  hay-loft  windows,  twit- 
tering merrily  as  they  bespoke  sites  for  their 
May  building. 

"  I'm  goin'  to  drop  potatoes  ter-morrer  in  the 
big  lot  that's  just  turned  in,"  said  Baldy,  slowly, 
as  he  put  every  strap  and  buckle  of  the  harness 
in  place  before  hanging  it  up. 

"That  lot  ain't  been  turned  over  this  hundred 
years,  if  ever,  reckonin'  by  the  stumps  and  stubs 
we  had  to  grub  out  o'  it,  and  the  ground's  full  er 
arrer-heads.  If  you  like,  and  the  folks'll  let  yer, 
I'd  be  pleased  to  have  you  come  along  down  ter- 
morrer  and  pick  up  a  mess.  Some  of  'em's  mighty 
cur'us,  and  I  reckon  you'll  like  'em  for  play  toys." 

"  Arrows,  a  field  full !  How  did  they  come 
there,  and  what  do  they  look  like  ?  "  said  Anne. 

"  Arrows,  lots  of  arrows  ! "  cried  Tommy, 
hopping  up  and  down  in  excitement.  "  Oh,  how 
fine  !  I'll  bring  my  bow  along  and  shoot  all  day. 
Won't  it  be  fun,  Anne,  to  have  all  the  arrows  you 
want  wifout  stopping  to  pick  'em  up." 


182  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"They're  reg'lar  Injun  arrer  tops,"  explained 
Baldy,  as  soon  as  he  could  be  heard,  "  made  er 
stone.  There  was  a  great  battle  once  here  about, 
a  couple  er  hundred  years  ago,  so  they  say,  and 
these  arrers  are  the  leavin's,  I  guess.  Maybe 
you'll  find  a  axe-head  or  a  spear ;  I  found  a 
couple  o'  fine  ones  once,  down  in  the  lot  where 
we  have  the  fodder  corn." 

"Have  you  got  them  at  your  house,  and  can 
we  go  down  and  see  them?"  begged  Anne. 

"Will  you  dive  me  the  axe  to  help  you  cut 
trees  wif?"  coaxed  Tommy. 

"You  couldn't  have  cut  butter  with  it,"  said 
Baldy,  laughing ;  "  besides,  I  gave  them  to  a  man 
that  wanted  to  put  them  in  a  museum  fer  relics." 

"  Only  think,"  sighed  Anne,  clasping  her  hands 
earnestly,  "we  grow  relics  right  here,  at  Happy 
Hall,  and  we  never  knew  it.  We'll  come  to- 
morrow very  early,  Baldy,  and  bring  big  baskets 
to  put  the  arrows  in." 

The  next  day  was  Saturday,  and  May  Day  into 
the  bargain.  Saturdays  had  a  great  way  of  com- 
ing when  Tommy  and  Anne  had  something  they 
wished  particularly  to  do.  Oh,  what  a  day  it 
was  !  The  air  was  sweet  with  the  breath  of  Cherry 
blossoms  and  the  dark  purple  double  Violets  were  in 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  183 

bloom  in  a  sunny  border.  The  Chi-kaug  flowers 
were  withering  and  giving  place  to  their  fat  seed- 
lunch  baskets,  while  their  cousins,  the  Jacks-in- 
the-Pulpits,  were  returning  to  their  stands  along 
old  fences  and  wood  edges.  All  the  spring  sounds 
and  signs  were  in  full  force,  B.  Oriole  bugled  as 
of  old  —  only  a  few  bird  notes  were  lacking. 

"It  is  wonderful  how  everything  has  caught 
up,"  said  Anne  to  herself  as  she  walked  slowly 
toward  the  "big  lot."  "The  day  of  the  great 
snow  I  thought  it  couldn't  be  summer  for  months 
and  months,  and  now  look  !  "  and  she  spread  her 
arms  as  if  she  would  like  to  give  everything, 
including  the  sky,  a  hearty  hug. 

"  The  Plan  says  that  my  garden  must  be  ready 
for  its  summer  work  of  growth,  no  matter  what 
mishaps  fall  in  the  between  seasons,"  said  Heart 
of  Nature,  speaking  from  an  old  gnarled  Willow,  - 
a  wand  of  which  brushed  Anne's  face  as  she  held 
it  gently  to  look  at  its  fresh  green  leaves. 

"  So  in  the  making  of  this  garden  all  these 
mishaps  are  arranged  for.  Though  I  must  do 
double  work  and  weave  the  leaf  fabrics  both 
night  and  day,  the  Flower  Market  is  open,  and 
Amoe,  the  Honey  Bee,  is  happy,  while  in  due 
time  Gitche-ah-mo,  the  Bumble  Bee,  shall  have 
his  usual  spring  feast  of  clover. 


184 


w  ABEND,  TEE  MAGICIAN 


"  The  fern 
wool   is 
ready 
spun  to 
line   the 
nests     of 
Penaisee, 
jj$    the    Hum- 
J    ming-Bird, 
and  Sweet, 
the    Yellow 
Warbler.  Al- 
ready     the 
lunch  baskets 
of    Pear    and 
Apple     are 
swelling       in 
the  bud,  and 
Heart  of  God 
and  Heart  of 
Man     rejoice 
with  me  and 
see  that  it  is 
good." 

"Please, 
dear  Heart  of 
Nature,"  said 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  185 

Anne,  softly,  "  are  there  any  Magic  Spectacles  you 
can  give  me  so  that  I  can  see  Heart  of  God  too  ? 
I'm  getting  used  to  you,  and  since  Tommy  came 
I  understand  about  Heart  of  Man  much  better ; 
but  the  other,  I  know  He  Is,  for  I  can  see  what 
he  does,  and  know  that  the  other  Hearts  could 
not  have  made  the  Plan  ;  but  I  can  never  see  him 
any  more  than  I  can  the  Winds  of  Night." 

"  The  human  eyes  that  shall  see  that  vision 
clearly,"  replied  Heart  of  Nature,  slowly,  "  must 
see  through  crystals  of  a  wondrous  fashioning  — 
things  to  be  earned,  not  given.  Some  day,  dear 
House  Child,  I  will  tell  you  what  these  crystals 
are ;  the  seeing  them  lies  with  yourself  and  Heart 
of  God." 

Anne  still  fingered  the  wand  of  Willow,  and  as 
she  looked  at  it  her  wonder  grew  anew.  "  Why," 
she  cried,  "this  Willow  was  in  bud  before  the 
great  snow,  and  after  it  was  over  I  looked  at  it 
and  all  the  buds  were  frozen,  and  after  a  while 
they  wizzled  up.  Where  did  all  these  leaves 
come  from  please,  dear  Heart  of  Nature  ?  Was 
it  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  who  mixed  up  the 
Winds  and  made  all  the  trouble  ?  Was  he  sorry 
for  the  mischief  he  had  made  and  so  came  and 
cured  the  trees/?  " 


186  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  No,  this  work  is  mine  and  very  simple,  too, 
for  the  Plan  arranged  it  all.  Wabeno  only  does 
the  conjuring  tricks  that  have  no  reasons  in  them 
to  be  explained.  He  is  the  answer  to  unanswer- 
able questions. 

"Look  at  that  twig  of  Willow,  or  better  yet, 
the  branch  of  the  next  tree,  the  sugar  Maple. 
One  leaf  bud  has  spread  into  a  perfect  leaf,  but 
round  the  leaf  stem  where  it  grasps  the  branch 
you  may  see  some  little  roughnesses  that  cover 
other  very  small  buds.  These  are  the  'Waiting 
Buds,'  and  in  them  lies  my  power  to  have  my 
garden  fit  for  the  Flower  Market,  and  my  trees 
ready  to  unfurl  their  draperies  to  shield  the 
birds,  regardless  of  old  Peboan  and  prowling 
Kabibonokka. 

"  A  bud  comes  out  too  soon  and  withers  from 
frosty  weather.  At  my  bidding  a  '  Waiting 
Bud'  takes  its  place  and  unfolds.  Once,  twice, 
or  thrice  even  these  patient  '  Waiting  Buds  '  may 
save  the  tree." 

"  How  wonderful,"  whispered  Anne,  stroking 
the  little  buds  as  cautiously  as  if  they  were  fairies 
ready  to  spring  out  at  the  slightest  touch. 
"But  what  becomes  of  these  'Waiting  Buds'  if 
the  first  one  is  not  frozen,  but  keeps  on  grow 
ing?" 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  187 

"  Different  things  in  different  trees.  Some- 
times the  buds  give  up  their  strength  to  the  one 
that  grows,  and  disappear.  Sometimes  they  grow 
out  sideways  into  new  twigs.  Sometimes  they 
may  wait  under  the  bark  for  years  even,  until  an 
accident  may  kill  or  break  the  limb  top  and  then 
they  make  haste  to  grow  into  new  branches. 
Thus  nothing  is  wasted,  nothing  lost  in  my  wild 
garden." 

"Do  all  plants  have  'Waiting  Buds'?  The 
Peonies  die  down  to  the  ground  every  fall,  so 
they  have  no  branches ;  where  are  their  '  Waiting 
Buds'?" 

"  The  '  Waiting  Buds '  of  shrubs  and  trees  are 
on  their  branches  ;  but  those  of  herbs  and  grasses 
lie  below  ground  at  the  root  tops,  where  the  spring 
growth  starts  forth. 

"Ah,  I  must  go  and  quiet  Mudjekeewis  and 
Shawondasee ;  they  are  too  sportive  and  forget 
the  cherries  are  in  blossom,  —  they  will  scatter 
the  precious  dust  before  the  seed-lunch  baskets 
are  filled,  and  then  the  seed  germs  will  starve, 
and  there  will  be  no  cherries  on  the  trees,"  and 
as  Heart  of  Nature  vanished,  the  rustling  in 
the  tree-tops  ceased,  and  every  leaf  hung  still. 

"  How  many  things  there  are  to  think  of,  if 
you  have  to  manage  a  garden  that  covers  the 


188  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

whole  earth,  as  Heart  of  Nature's  does,"  said 
Anne,  as  she  went  on  to  the  field,  where  Baldy 
and  Obi  were  filling  baskets  with  the  potatoes 
they  had  cut  up  for  planting,  or  dropping,  as  it 
is  called  in  field  language. 

Tommy  returned  from  a  hasty  run  about  the 
lot,  dragging  his  bow  along  the  ground,  and 
almost  crying.  "  I  tan't  find  an  arrow  any- 
where, not  even  one.  Do  you  fink  somebody 
can  have  stoled  them  in  the  night,  Baldy? 
Miss  Jule  says  it  is  'most  time  for  the  Gypsies 
that  sell  horses  to  come  along  and  camp,  and  that 
they'd  take  anyfing,  even  the  Miller's  cat  if  they 
tould  tatch  him." 

"  There's  an  arrer-head,  I  reckon,  right  by  your 
foot,"  said  Baldy,  pointing  to  a  glistening  bit  of 
flint  lying  on  top  of  the  fresh  earth. 

"  That !  "  exclaimed  Anne,  picking  it  up ;  "  why 
an  arrow  is  a  long,  thin  stick  with  a  sharp  point, 
and  this  is  only  a  little  bit  of  a  thing  that  looks 
more  like  a  jackstone." 

"  Yer  didn't  think  whole  wooden  arrers  could 
stay  buried  in  the  ground  a  couple  er  hundred 
years  without  rottin',  did  yer?  These  here  are 
arrer-headSi  that  the  Injuns  fastened  somehow  on 
the  end  er  their  arrer  sticks.  Mighty  curious 
things  tew,  not  a  pair  er  them  alike,  —  some 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  189 

little,  and  some  so  big,  —  folks  claim  the  Injuns 
used  the  big  uns  for  spears." 

"  Phoof  !  they're  no  dood  to  me  to  shoot  wif  my 
bow,"  said  Tommy,  casting  that  article  on  the 
heap  of  uncut  potatoes.  "  I'd  rather  do  wif  Obi 
and  drop  potatoes  than  pick  up  any  of  those 
things,  'cept  enough  for  jackstones. 

"  Can  I  have  a  bag  of  potato  pieces  to  hang 
round  my  neck,  please,  Baldy?" 

Being  soon  equipped  the  Potato  procession 
started,  Obi  dropping  the  "  eyes,"  and  Baldy  hoe- 
ing the  earth  over  them.  Anne,  however,  began 
to  hunt  for  arrow-heads,  as  the  strangeness  of 
their  shapes  and  colours  interested  her  greatly. 

After  searching  carefully  for  nearly  an  hour, 
she  had  found  a  double  handful  of  the  three- 
cornered  stones,  which  she  took  under  the  tree 
on  the  field  edge  to  sort,  for  the  sun  was  really 
quite  hot,  and  the  warm  breath  was  rising  from 
the  steaming  earth. 

As  she  walked  along,  looking  at  the  bits  of 
stone  she  carried  in  her  apron,  she  stumbled  over 
the  heap  of  whole  Potatoes,  and  sent  some  of 
them  bouncing  off  into  the  field. 

"  I  wish  you  would  be  more  careful,"  said  one 
particularly  lajge,  smooth  Potato  that  had  rolled 
into  a  furrow.  "  Pick  me  up,  and  put  me  back 


190  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

with  the  others,  or  I  may  be  overlooked  in  the 
planting." 

"I  think  you  might  say  please,"  answered 
Anne,  first  securing  her  arrow-heads  safely  in  her 
apron  pocket,  and  then  picking  up  the  Potato. 

"  You  didn't  say  please,  or  anything,  when  you 
upset  me  out  of  the  heap ;  you  just  kicked  me," 
replied  the  Potato  rather  crossly. 

"  I  did  not  kick,"  said  Anne,  hastily ;  "  I  stum- 
bled. Girls  must  never  kick  anything." 

"It  might  seem  a  stumble  to  you;  but  it  felt 
like  a  kick  to  me.  Potatoes  have  feelings,  I 
assure  you,  and  come  of  a  very  proud  and  im- 
portant race." 

"It  seems  to  me  that  almost  everything  I've 
met  this  spring  comes  of  a  grand  family,"  said 
Anne  to  herself.  "There  was  the  Chi-kaug 
flower  that  was  first  cousin  to  the  Calla,  and 
the  Tree  Frog  who  had  a  relative  that  flew  with 
his  feet,  and  another  that  could  turn  any  colour 
he  liked.  I  wonder  if  plants  and  animals  have 
societies  and  call  themselves  daughters  and  sons 
of  things. 

"  What  family  do  you  belong  to  ?  "  asked  Anne, 
abruptly,  still  holding  the  Potato  in  her  hand 
and  looking  at  the  shallow  dimples  in  it  from 
which  buds  seemed  about  to  sprout. 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  191 

"  Perhaps  you  have  a  name,  too,  and  are  related 
to  the  Rose-bushes ;  I  heard  Baldy  say  something 
about  early  Rose  Potatoes." 

"  Early  Rose  is  my  aunt  on  my  mother's  side 
of  the  family,"  replied  the  Potato,  with  conde- 
scension. "  She  usually  grows  over  in  the  south 
lot  that  is  always  used  for  an  early  crop.  I  am 
the  White  Elephant,  a  most  superior  late  variety, 
and  you  will  find  my  pedigree  and  testimonials 
of  my  character  in  all  seed  catalogues  of  any 
importance." 

Anne  immediately  laid  the  Potato  on  the  very 
top  of  the  heap  in  a  position  suitable  to  its  dig- 
nity, which  act  of  deference  seemed  to  please  it 
so  much  that  it  grew  quite  talkative. 

"  I  do  not  belong  to  the  Rose  Family.  Roses, 
of  course,  are  all  very  well  in  their  places,  but, 
hem,  —  I  do  not  wish  to  seem  vain,  eight  members 
of  my  family  are  so  important  that  they  have  been 
for  many  years  officers  in  the  Flower  Market, 
being  in  charge  of  the  different  booths." 

"  I  suppose  you  are  related  to  Turnips  and  Car- 
rots and  Beets,"  interrupted  Anne,  "  because  we  eat 
the  roots  of  those  things  the  same  as  we  eat  you." 

"  You  are  entirely  wrong,  though  your  mistake 
is  quite  a  natural  one,"  answered  the  White  Ele- 
phant, loftily ;  "  I  belong  to  the  Potato  Family. 


192 


WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 


This  is  a  household  that  people  both  love  and 
fear,  for  some  of  its  members  have  poisonous 
juices  and  give  a  sleep  that  lasts  too  long. 

"  House  People  eat  my  underground  tubers,  it 
is  true,  but  they  are  not  real  roots  like  those 
of  the  Beat,  Carrot,  and  Turnip.  Nevertheless,  I 
am  chief  of  the  Edible  Root  Booth  —  what  vege- 
table so  important  as  I  ?  What  vegetable  can  be 
cooked  and  served  in  so  many  ways?  Is  there 
not  mourning  in  the  land  if  the  Potato  crop  fails  ? 
Though,  alas,  I  regret  to  say,  we  do  have  many 
ills  that  both  spoil  our  complexions  and  give  us 
watery  hearts. 

"In  the  booth  next  to  the  Fruit  Stall 
you  will  find  my  two  pet  cousins  from 
South   America,  —  the   Tomato   and   the 
Egg    Plant.      House    People    eat    their 
fruity   seed   vessels ;    but  if  they  should 
eat   the  green  balls  that  are   my 
seed-lunch  baskets,  they  would 
soon  be  very,  very  ill  indeed. 


TfiE  PLANTING  MOON  193 

"  The  Pepper  presiding  at  the  Pickle  Booth  is 
my  second  cousin,  while  over  in  the  Drug  Depart- 
ment you  may  find  three  more  of  our  family,  not 


beautiful  to  look  at  and  wearing  poison  labels  on 
their  foreheads.  These  brothers  are  Belladonna, 
Henbane,  and  Stramonium. 

"Another  of  us,  the  Horse  Nettle,  has  been 
expelled  from  the  Flower  Market  as  a  vagabond 
weed,  a  mere  tramp,  and  the  Climbing  Nightshade, 
with  violet  purple  flowers  and  the  smooth  red 
berries,  that  House  Children  must  not  eat,  lives 
with  the  flowers  of  waste  grounds. 

"  This  is  a  goodly  showing  for  any  family,  but 
there  is  one  other  plant,  the  chief  of  all,  even 
really  more  popular  the  world  around,  I  think, 
than  I  am.  He  has  a  booth  all  to  himself,  though 
from  his  bloom  iie  might  be  with  the  flowers. 
Will  you  believe  it,  House  Men  as  well  as  the 
Red  Brothers  buy  more  from  this  booth  than 
from  all  the  lovely  Flower  Booths  together.  Yet 


194  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

they  cannot  eat  the  wares  it  offers,  for  they  do 
not  nourish  ;  and  though  they  may  be  burned,  they 
will  not  give  men  warmth. 

"Hush!  I  must  whisper,  even  when  I  think  of 
this  weird  brother,  for  he  is  the  chosen  one  above 
all  others  in  the  Market  by  Wabeno,  the  Magician, 
who  has  gifted  him  with  the  Magic  Leaves  that 
filled  the  peace  pipe  of  the  Red  Brothers.  Through 
the  smoke  that  comes  from  these  leaves,  Wagoose, 
the  Dream  Fox,  may  show  his  pictures  even  by 
daylight. 

"  Men  love  this  smoke,  they  know  not  why. 
From  a  speck  of  seed,  like  dust,  this  stalwart  plant 
of  mystic  leaf  springs  in  a  season,  and  its  name 
is  Jack  Nicotine  Tobacco." 

"Ah,  then  cigars  and  all  those  sort  of  things 
come  from  your  family,  too.  Now  I  understand 
why  Baldy  sits  outside  his  door  in  the  evening 
and  blows  pipe  smoke  up  and  looks  at  it.  I  sup- 
pose he  sees  things.  I've  often  asked  him  why  he 
liked  to  do  it,  and  he  says,  '  Don't  know  why  I 
do.'  I  believe  the  reason  he  can't  tell  is  that 
Wabeno  won't  let  him. 

"I  want  to  know  more  whys  about  yourself," 
continued  Anne.  "  You  say  your  tubers  are  good 
and  your  seeds  bad,  and  yet  they  are  both  from 
the  same  plant ;  how  can  that  possibly  be  ?  " 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  195 

"  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician  ;  I  do  not  know," 
said  the  White  Elephant. 

"  But  if  your  seed  was  planted,  would  the  pota- 
toes that  grow  be  good  or  poisonous  ?  " 

"Perfectly  good." 

"Then  why  do  we  plant  the  potatoes  in  the 
ground  instead  of  seeds,  and  why  do  we  cut  them 
up  before  we  plant  them  ?  " 

"  I  think  you  wish  to  know  a  great  many  whys 
all  at  once.  To  begin  with,  House  People  plant 
the  roots  because  the  plants  will  grow  quicker 
and  come  up  stronger  at  once,  instead  of  first 
being  weak  seedlings. 

"  Why  we  are  cut  up  is  a  different  matter.  Our 
tubers  are  branches  that  budded  underground,  and 
having  no  light  to  guide  them  they  swelled  into 
lumps  instead  of  growing  out  long.  Now  these 
lumps  have  buds  in  them  the  same  as  if  they  were 
real  branches.  See !  those  little  pits  that  are 
called  '  eyes '  in  me  are  the  buds.  House  People 
cut  the  tuber  into  bits,  leaving  two  or  three  '  eyes ' 
in  each  one  to  make  new  plants,  as  your  mother 
cuts  her  Geranium?  into  lengths,  with  two  or  three 

»f  O  " 

bud  joints,  to  make  new  slips." 

"  How  wonderful !  "  exclaimed  Anne  ;  "  and  that 
is  why  some  of  the  old  potatoes,  if  they  are  left 
in  the  root  cellar  until  the  weather  grows  warm, 


196  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

begin  to  sprout  and  try  to  make  new  plants  out 
of  themselves.  Did  the  Red  Brothers  grow 
potatoes  ?  " 

"  They  knew  us  well,  for  we  live  in  the  wild 
garden,  from  South  America  to  the  far  western 
country ;  but  they  used  us  for  magic,  not  for  food. 

"  They  called  us  Opin,  and  an  arrow-head  here 
in  the  field  told  me  only  this  morning  that 
Wabeno  uses  our  eyes  to  see  with  when  he 
wishes  to  work  some  magic  underground." 

The  planting  party  returned  for  more  Potatoes, 
and  the  big  White  Elephant  was  the  very  first 
one  taken  from  the  heap.  Anne  felt  rather  badly 
as  Baldy's  sharp  knife  began  to  slice,  but  the 
Potato  seemed  delighted  and  called  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  basket : — 

"  Only  think,  I  am  such  a  fine  Potato  that  it 
will  take  four  hills  to  hold  me,  and  possibly  I  may 
be  nearly  a  peck  of  White  Elephants  in  the  fall. 
I'm  so  glad  to  be  out  here  seeing  life,  instead  of 
shut  up  in  the  root  cellar  for  mice  to  nibble.  It's 
a  jolly  field,  too,  where  I'm  to  be  planted,  for  I 
shall  hear  so  many  fine  stories  from  the  arrow- 
heads ;  stories  of  battles  and  brave  doings,  and  I 
may  meet  some  of  my  wild  relatives  on  the  field 
edge." 


THE  PLANTING  MOON  197 

Anne  spread  her  treasures  in  her  lap.  The 
arrow-heads  were  of  several  sizes,  some  were 
glistening  white,  others  quite  black,  and  one  had 
a  beautiful  greenish  lustre. 

"  I  wish  I  knew  how  these  were  made  and  how 
long  they  have  been  here,"  she  sighed ;  "  but,  of 
course,  one  mustn't  expect  stones  to  speak  like  the 
Plant  and  Beast  Brothers." 

"A  stone  may  speak  to  her  who  wears  the 
Magic  Spectacles,  when  that  stone  is  of  the  tribe 
of  Bek-wuk,  the  Arrow,"  replied  a  voice,  sweep- 
ing low  over  the  field  with  Shawondasee,  and 
pausing  close  to  Anne. 


IX 


$tory  of  Bel{-u;ul(,  ttye  flrrou; 


I 


T  was  long  ago  that  I  first  saw  light  —  far 
back  before  the  days  when  Wenona  left  her 
father  to  go  to  her  mother  in  the  Morning 
Star.  I  was  a  bit  of  flint  rock  that  for  ages 
had  been  in  the  Earth's  smelting  furnace  and 
afterward  imprisoned  in  a  granite  cliff,  the  same 
cliff  from  which  Wenona  took  her  flight. 

"  In  those  days  the  Red  Brothers  of  the  north 
roved  wild,  both  east  and  west,  from  ocean  to 
ocean,  with  the  Deer  and  Buffalo.  They  had 
neither  gun  nor  sword,  knife  nor  iron,  horse  nor 
cow.  Their  garden  was  the  wild  Flower  Market, 
their  drink  pure  water.  These  were  the  days  of 
true  hunting,  before  the  Stone  Giants  came,  and 
in  the  very  last  of  these  good  days  was  I  made." 

198 


BEK-WUK,    THE   ARROW  199 

"  If  they  had  no  knives  nor  guns,  how  could 
they  kill  anything  when  they  went  hunting ;  and 
if  they  had  no  horses,  how  could  they  go,  and  who 
were  the  Stone  Giants?"  interrupted  Anne,  tak- 
ing up  a  glistening  white  arrow-head,  the  most 
shapely  of  all,  from  among  those  in  her  lap,  for 
it  was  upon  this  one  the  voice  rested. 

"  Slowly,  go  slowly,  House  Child,  and  listen 
patiently  if  you  would  hear  my  story.  We  of  the 
past  who  have  grown  slowly  with  the  Earth's 
growth  must  take  our  own  way  and  time  of 
telling. 

"As  I  was  saying,  I  was  of  a  layer  of  white 
flint  rock  embedded  in  the  granite  of  Wenona's 
cliff.  For  ages  after  I  had  hardened  from  a 
molten  mass  I  lay  there,  cold  and  silent.  You 
may  perhaps  find  such  stuff  as  I  making  white 
lines  in  some  broken  rock  hereabouts." 

"  Ah,  yes,"  said  Anne,  "  I  know  a  place  between 
here  and  Wild  Cat  Mountain  that  we  call  the 
Dark  Woods.  A  plaere  where  I  may  never  go 
alone  because  the  rocks  are  high  like  a  wall,  and 
Aspetuck  runs  so  quickly  between  them  that  father 
says  it  has  cut  a  pathway  for  itself.  In  those 
high  rocks  there  are  stripes  of  shiny,  sharp  flint, 
just  like  you  —  not  exactly  straight  stripes  like 
those  on  a  flag,  but  wiggley  ones,  like  a  crumpled- 


200  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

up  jelly  cake.  You  look  almost  as  if  you  were 
made  of  that  very  same  rock." 

The  Arrow-head  seemed  to  quiver  as  Anne 
pressed  it  against  the  palm  of  her  hand,  and  asked 
in  an  eager,  choking  voice  :  — 

"  Does  the  rock  wall  face  the  rising  sun  ?  Are 
there  old  trees  fringing  the  top?  Tall  trees  in 
a  long  waving  line,  like  warriors  hemmed  back 
in  a  last  battle;  then  beyond  these  trees  an 
open  place  from  which  the  stones  have  all  been 
gathered  ?  " 

"  I  think  the  cliff  does  face  sunrise,"  said  Anne, 
after  hesitating  a  moment,  "  because  I  remember 
the  sun  lies  full  on  it  in  the  morning  ;  but  I'll  go 
and  ask  Obi  and  Baldy — they'll  know  because 
they've  been  up  there  this  winter  after  Foxes,  and 
I  haven't  been  there  since  Crotalus,  the  Bad  One, 
died,"  she  said,  starting  up. 

"  No,  do  not  go,  House  Child,"  begged  the 
Arrow-head  ;  "  let  us  be  alone  together  for  a  time, 
you  and  I,  for  you  tell  me  strange  news,  and  I  may 
tell  you  stranger  yet.  About  the  tree  fringe  and 
the  cleared  ground,  are  they  there  ?  " 

"There  were  trees  there  until  last  year,  but 
lumbermen  have  cut  them  down.  Father  says 
there  must  have  been  a  very  old  wood  there  once, 
of  great  white  oaks,  —  a  pri-me-val  forest,  he 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW  201 

called  it,  —  because  there  are  some  e-normous 
wrecks  of  stumps,  with  trees  that  are  pretty  big 
and  old  now,  growing  between  them.  I  don't  re- 
member any  open  field  behind  the  cliff;  it  was  all 
woods  quite  across  to  the  Mountain." 

"  Of  course,  of  course,  it  would  be  after  all  these 
years,"  said  the  Arrow-head.  "  Was  there  a  wide, 
open  piece  of  water  above,  before  the  cliffs  made 
the  way  narrow  ?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course  —  the  long  pond.  It  used  to 
be  lovely,  full  of  Lilies  and  Wild  Ducks,  but  the 
lumbermen  have  messed  it  all  up  to  make  the 
water  turn  their  saw-mill." 

"  House  Child,"  cried  the  Arrow-head,  "  that 
was  the  cliff  from  which  Wenona  took  her  flight 
with  Robin  Thrush  and  Owaissa.  From  its  glis- 
tening rocks  was  I  made  !  " 

"  How  wonderful  !  "  sighed  Anne,  fingering  the 
Arrow-head  tenderly.  "Then  there  were  Red 
Brothers  here  where  we  liv^  !  Do  tell  me  every- 
thing you  remember,  and  I  won't  interrupt  you  any 
more,  that  is, — only  one  question,  —  did  you  ever 
meet  Wagoose,  the  Dream  Fox  ?  Did  he  ever 
live  here  ?  " 

"  You  say  there  are  Foxes  here  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,  plenty  of  them;  too  many  for  our  chickens 
to  be  happy." 


202  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Wherever  Foxes  have  lived,  or  man  lives  to- 
day, there  may  Wagoose  be  found." 

"  But  have  you  ever  seen  him  yourself  ?  " 
"Never;  only  to  those  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Beasts,  of  which  Man  is  the  King,  will  Wabeno 
vouchsafe  sight  of  him.     Now  for  my  life  his- 
tory." 

"  I  had  lain  a  long  time  in  darkness,  in  my  rocky 
bed,  when  one  day  I  heard  a  tapping  around  and 
above  me.  I  wondered  about  it  a  good  deal,  slight 
as  it  was,  because  I  had  heard  nothing  like  it  be- 
fore. This  sound  went  on  at  times  for  many 
years,  and  every  little  while  a  shiver  would  run 
through  the  rock  to  which  I  belonged. 

"  One  day  this  shiver  became  more  violent,  a 
splitting  noise  followed,  and  then  a  crash.  When 
my  bones  stopped  aching,  I  saw  that  it  was  no 
longer  dark ;  blue  sky  was  above  my  head.  At 
one  side  stood  the  cliff  from  which  I  had  fallen, 
at  the  other  dashed  the  swift  running  river  — 
between  these  two  I  lay. 

"As  soon  as  I  learned  what  had  happened  to 
me,  I  began  to  look  about." 

"But  what  had  happened?  Who  hammered 
you  off  the  other  rock  ?  "  asked  Anne,  forgetting 
that  she  had  promised  not  to  speak. 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW  203 

"  The  place  where  I  slept  was  near  the  cliff's 
edge.  A  tiny  crack  lay  between  my  bed  and  the 
great  rocky  mass  that  was  scarred  through  and 
through  by  just  such  other  cracks.  Into  this 
seam  the  rain  had  crept,  drop  by  drop,  year  upon 
year,  feeling  its  way  in  summer,  turning  to  ice 
in  winter,  and  pushing  against  the  rock  when  it 
thawed  out  in  spring.  Little  by  little  the  crack 
widened  to  a  seam  ;  as  more  rain  could  enter 
there  was  more  ice  to  push,  until  one  spring  the 
crisis  came  and  my  bit  could  no  longer  grasp  the 
cliff,  and  so  I  fell." 

"  I  know  that  must  be  true,  because  now  there 
is  a  monstrous  great  lump  of  rock,  bigger  than 
the  tool  house,  right  in  the  middle  of  the  river, 
that  came  from  the  top  edge  of  the  cliff.  For 
even  though  the  water  has  worn  the  corners  off, 
it  couldn't  move  it,  and  you  can  almost  see  the 
place  it  fell  from,  the  stripj*s  in  it  match  so  well. 
Besides,  that  is  the  way  the  ice  cracked  my  water 
pitcher.  Please  excuse  me  for  interrupting,  dear 
little  Arrow,  but  if  you  only  knew  how  glad  I  am 
when  I  quite  understand  something,  you  wouldn't 
think  me  rude.  It's  a  way  all  young  animals  have, 
I  think,  for  Waddles  always  used  to  interrupt, 
and  Tommy  does,  and  Lumberlegs,  too,  so  I'm 
pretty  sure  that  Heart  of  Nature  means  us  to  ask 


••';- 

& 


WZi%xA\ 

V&ifi&fl 

mw-      J-^ 

?FH/M 


real  questions  so  we  can 
learn  things.  Of  course 
talky,  talky  questions  are 
different." 

"  Then,"    continued    the 
Arrow,  "  I  learned  in  a  few 
hours     more    than    I    had 
2    known  in  all  the  ages  of  ray 
growth  and  sleeping.     The 
life    of    Heart    of    Man    is 
short,  only  a  breath's  length 
%g    compared  with  the  young- 
est bit  of  earth  stuff,  so  he 
must   feel,   see,  learn,   and 


i 


&£%& 

=* — ^ 

204 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW  205 

act  quickly  to  do  his  part  in  the  Plan,  and  that 
day  I  met  the  Red  Brothers. 

"  As  I  lay  there  by  the  river,  looking  up  at  the 
bare  trees,  so  gray  that  I  thought  them  made  of 
rock  like  myself,  and  at  the  ice  that  still  lodged 
in  dark  cliff  crevices,  I  heard  a  sound  that  I  soon 
learned  was  the  voice  of  man.  A  dark  object 
shot  by  me  down  the  river,  but  swiftly  as  it  went 
I  saw  the  strange  shapes  in  it  and  that  they  no- 
ticed me. 

"  The  Red  Brothers  had  been  fishing  for  Trout 
and  Pickerel  at  the  head-waters  far  above  and,  as 
the  canoe  was  guided  into  still  water,  the  women 
came  out  from  their  lodges  behind  the  wood 
fringe,  pulled  the  craft  ashore,  and  loading  the 
fishes  upon  flat  trays  of  braided  rushes,  carried 
them  toward  the  village  of  wigwags.  All  this  I 
did  not  then  understand,  but  learned  after  ;  yet  it 
saves  time  to  tell  it  as  it  was,  not  as  it  seemed  to 
me  but  newly  escaped  from  a  granite  prison." 

"  Why  didn't  the  Red  Brothers  carry  their  own 
fishes  home  ?  I  don't  think  they  were  polite." 

"  It  was  their  custom,  even  as  the  male  and 
female  bird  both  help  in  the  nest  building,  or  as 
the  She-wolf,  Fox,  or  Wild  Cat  toils  most  to  feed 
her  ravenous  young. 

"  Two  words  held  the  rule  of  the  Red  Brothers' 


206  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

household.  One  word  belonged  to  man  to  carry 
out,  the  other  to  the  woman,  and  these  two  words 
were  Provide  and  Prepare. 

"  The  Red  Brothers  did  the  hunting  and  fishing, 
provided  the  meat,  the  skins  for  tent  covers  and 
robes,  and  caught  the  fish  ;  the  Squaws  prepared 
the  food,  carried  it  home,  prepared  the  skins,  dried 
the  fish.  The  Brothers  made  war  ;  the  Squaws 
made  ready  for  it.  It  was  their  law  ;  there  was 
no  impoliteness  in  it  because  they  saw  none. 

"  Presently  three  Red  Brothers  came  along  the 
bank  where  I  was  lying,  pointing  to  me  and  many 
other  fragments  like  me,  some  larger  and  some 
smaller.  They  seemed  glad  that  we  were  there, 
and  presently  others  came  and  began  to  gather  us 
up  in  heaps,  striking  the  larger  pieces  skilfully 
with  greater  stones  until  they  fell  in  fragments  fit 
to  carry. 

"  Next  day  I  found  myself  in  a  half-dark  wig- 
wam, covered  with  bark.  Light  came  in  the  door- 
way and  also  through  a  hole  left  at  the  top  that 
smoke,  the  breath  of  heat,  might  escape  through 
it.  In  the  doorway  sat  a  man  ;  before  him  was  a 
large  smooth  flat  stone;  in  his  right  hand  he  held 
another  stone  with  which  he  chipped  grains  from 
a  still  smaller  fragment  his  left  hand  grasped.  I 
watched  him  closely,  for,  as  he  chipped,  the  flint 


THE  ARROW  MAKER 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW  207 

fragment  took  a  shape  like  that  of  many  others 
lying  on  the  ground. 

"  In  a  little  time  he  rose,  stepped  into  the  after- 
noon sunlight,  listened,  whistled  to  Ka\v-ka\v,  the 
Raven,  who  was  stealing  through  the  bare  trees 
looking  for  acorns,  then  seated  himself  cross-legged 
again,  filled  a  hollow  at  the  end  of  a  long  stick 
with  dry  leaves,  lighted  them  with  fire  that  smoul- 
dered inside  the  wigwam,  and  straightway  fire 
breath  curled  from  the  stick  and  his  own  nostrils, 
yet  he  himself  did  not  burn  away.  Presently, 
when  all  the  leaves  had  turned  to  smoke,  there 
being  no  more  food  for  the  fire,  it  died  out;  he  laid 
this  stick  —  they  call  it  a  pipe  —  away,  and  coming 
into  the  lodge  chose  me  from  out  the  heap  of  flints 
and  began  shaping  me  with  stinging  blows. 

"  I  was  confused,  as  you  may  well  believe  ;  first, 
I  grew  long,  then  was  narrowed  to  a  point,  sloped 
sidewise  to  sharp  edges,  and  finished  in  a  grooved 
blunt  butt.  Then  I  was  rubbed  and  polished  by 
various  other  kinds  of  stones  until  the  old  man 
was  content  with  my  appearance,  and  saying 
mystic  words,  he  laid  me  on  a  pile  with  many 
others  like  me  :  '  Go  forth,  Bek-wuk,  arrow-head, 
thou  art  beautiful  of  thy  kind,'  he  whispered, 
scarcely  moving  his  lips;  '  touch  the  heart  of  all 
you  desire,  —  of  the  deer  in  the  hunting,  of  the 


208  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

foe  on  the  war-path.  May  Wabeno's  keenness 
be  on  your  tip,  his  cunning  in  your  shaft,  and  the 
swiftness  of  Wagoose  in  your  flight.' 

"  Thus  was  I  born  and  made  a  Magic  Arrow  in 
the  tent  of  Kanida,  the  arrow  maker,  brother  to 
the  warrior  Kaniwa,  Wenona's  father." 

"  For  many  days  and  nights  I  lay  in  the  tent, 
watching  what  went  on  about  me.  Other  instru- 
ments of  killing  and  household  vessels  were  my 
tent  mates.  Spear  heads,  chipped  from  flint  like 
myself,  but  ten  times  greater  in  length,  stone  axes 
that  would  beat  more  readily  than  cut,  fish  hooks 
wrought  from  bone,  clay  pots,  wooden  bowls,  and 
water  vessels  made  from  gourd  rinds,  bundles  of 
reeds,  and  feathers  of  the  wild  goose. 

"  Kanida  would  select  a  dozen  arrow-heads 
from  off  the  pile,  scan  each  one  closely,  narrowing 
his  eyes  as  he  held  it  between  them  and  the  light; 
then  make  ready  a  dozen  reeds  to  mate  them, 
fastening  head  to  shaft  with  horn  glue  and  the 
stout  thongs  of  hide  that  the  Beast  Brotherhood 
furnished.  Next  was  the  shaft  nicely  winged 
with  goose  quills  to  make  an  even  balance.  So 
were  the  arrows  ready  to  go  forth  to  live  their 
lives,  while  in  and  out  of  the  lodge  came  and  went 
silent  figures  who  bartered  venison,  birds,  and  other 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW 


209 


food  for  the  arrows,  sometimes  stopping  to  smoke 
a  pipe  with  Kanida,  sometimes  leaving  quickly. 

"  In  the  lodge  were  arrow-heads  that  had  seen 
service  and  returned  to  be  reshafted,  and  they 
told  me  strange  tales  of  war  and 
hunting.  How  they  were 
often  rubbed  with  poi- 
son from  the  fangs  of 
Crotalus,  the  Bad 
One,  if  meant  for 
war  arrows ;  and 
how  they  had  trav- 
elled mighty  dis- 
tances in  the  flesh 
of  some  slightly 
wounded  stag  to  be 
made  prisoners 
by  a  strange 
tribe,  and  final-  ~~Z 
ly  found  their 
way  back  to 
Kanida's  lodge 
by  the  same  chance,  for  the  Red  Brothers  prized 
Bek-wuk,  the  Arrow,  above  price,  and  never  aban- 
doned him  carelessly. 

"  One  day  a  girl  came  to  the  lodge  —  a  child 
almost,  but  tall  and  slim  and  very  beautiful.     She 


210  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

sat  upon  the  ground  and  toyed  and  played  with 
the  glistening  arrow-heads,  plucking  out  those 
that  pleased  her  best,  —  a  bit  of  light  green  jade 
from  distant  parts,  a  coal  black  point,  and  —  me ! 
A  thrill  went  through  me  as  I  felt  the  soft  touch 
of  her  fingers,  and  solemn  Kanida  even  smiled  as 
he  gazed  upon  her,  for  it  was  Wenona — she  whom 
all  the  tribe  held  in  part  to  be  one  of  them,  and 
yet  something  far  beyond.  Wenona,  daughter  of 
Kaniwa,  the  Chief,  whose  mother  had  vanished  to 
the  Morning  Star.  Wenona,  —  whose  very  name 
signified  a  quivering  ray  of  light,  —  the  maid,  who 
saw  in  dreams  things  that  should  happen  afar  off. 

"This  day  Wenona  was  playful  and  sad  by 
turns,  and  Kanida  often  glanced  at  her  anxiously; 
finally  he  laid  his  flints  aside,  and  filling  his  pipe 
began  to  smoke  silently,  as  if  inviting  her  con- 
fidence. As  the  day  lengthened,  pulling  the  shad- 
ows after  it,  she,  crouching  at  the  arrow  maker's 
feet,  began  to  speak,  at  first  in  short  sentences,  as 
if  she  read  a  story  dimly  through  the  smoke. 

'"They  are  coming,  they  will  soon  be  here! 
The  Stone  Giants,  people  from  a  far-off  tribe,  with 
faces  of  a  strange,  dead  colour.  First  will  our 
people  send  out  good  brave  arrows  against  them, 
but  stone  to  stone  the  Giants  shall  hurl  them  back 
with  broken  shafts,  while  they  shall  be  uninjured. 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW 


211 


" '  Again,  and  many  times  again,  shall  our 
people  try  to  overthrow  these  stone  men  by  all 
trick  and  subtlety  of  war,  but  vainly;  for  in  their 
hands  the  Giants  carry  in  leash  Ishkodah,  the 
Comet  with  the  fiery  tail,  with  which  to  blind  and 
kill  the  Red  Brothers  from  without,  while  in  a 
seeming  friendly  cup  they  hold  out  burning  water 


to  kill  them  with  unquenched  thirst.  The  Stone 
Giants  come!  I  hear  their  earth  tread  even 
now  ! '  she  whispered  shivering. 

" '  How  and  whence  know  you  this,  my  daugh- 
ter ? '  questioned  Kanida,  with  a  troubled  look. 

"  Wenona  looked  up,  laughing  gayly,  her  mood 
changing  suddenly. 

"  '  Whence  know  I  it  ?  Everything  whispers  it 
as  gossip.  Apuk-wa,  the  Bulrush,  told  it  to  me, 


212  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

and  when  I  doubted,  Annemeekee,  the  Thunder, 
said  that  it  was  so.  Kayoshk',  the  Sea  Gull,  told 
me  that  he  had  himself  seen  the  Stone  Giants 
crossing  a  mighty  river  in  great  canoes  that  sank 
not  in  spite  of  the  vast  weight,  and  when  I 
doubted,  Wabun,  the  East  Wind,  told  me  it  was 
so,  for  he  and  Kabibonokka  had  followed  these 
canoes,  striving  to  upset  them,  but  could  not. 

"'More  than  this  —  draw  close,  Kanida,  for  I 
may  but  whisper  —  Wabeno,  the  Magician,  told 
me,  only  the  night  last  gone,  that  the  Stone 
Giants,  against  whom  your  swiftest  arrows  should 
fall  as  harmless  as  leaves  on  sand,  were  nearing 
us,  and  presently  Wagoose  showed  me  all  the 
pictures  of  their  deeds  to  come  in  his  magic  book. 
Then — listen  and  pity,  Kanida — I,  forgetting,  did 
the  forbidden  thing,  unveiled  my  eyes  and  looked 
Wabeno  full  in  the  face,  exchanging  glance  for 
glance.  This  thing  my  mother  did  before  me, 
and  thus,  knowing  too  much,  she  disappeared,  and 
after  one  more  snow  I  too  must  join  her  in  Wabun- 
Annung,  the  Morning  Star.' 

"  Stillness  fell  on  the  wigwam  ;  Wenona  stole 
away.  Kaw-kaw,  the  Raven,  called  thrice  to 
Mang,  the  Loon,  and  we  knew  that  Wabeno  and 
the  Dream  Fox  were  hovering  near.  Kanida  sat 
musing  until  his  pipe  went  out,  and  his  lodge  fire 


BEK-WUK,   THE  ARROW  213 

also  died;  on  arousing  he  had  to  kindle  it  anew 
by  rubbing  two  dry  bits  of  wood  together  until 
their  heat  broke  out  into  flames." 

"Why  didn't  he  borrow  some  matches  if  he 
hadn't  any?"  asked  Anne,  without  thinking;  then, 
answering  herself,  "  Of  course  he  couldn't.  If 
there  were  no  guns  or  knives  or  powder  or  horses 
or  anything,  there  weren't  any  matches,  and  any- 
way I  remember  that  it  says  in  my  history  that 
not  so  dreadfully  long  ago  even  House  People 
used  to  have  to  make  fire  by  striking  iron  and  flint 
together." 

"In  spite  of  Wenona's  words,"  continued  Bek- 
wuk,  "the  morning  came  and  no  Stone  Giants 
appeared,  for  we  Arrows  had  thought  they  were  to 
come  at  once. 

"It  soon  was  the  Planting  Moon,  and  all  the 
women  of  the  tribe  were  busy  in  the  clearing, 
planting  Mondamin,  Maize,  and  the  flat  seeds  of 
Askuta-squash,  the  Gourd,  whose  body  yielded 
food  and  whose  rind  made  household  vessels. 
Everywhere  there  was  feasting,  dancing,  singing, 
and  magic  walking  around  the  field  at  night  to 
bless  the  crops.  Mai-mai,  the  Woodcock,  left  his 
writing  in  the  muddy  places,  and  Wazhusk,  the 
Muskrat,  forsook  his  winter  lodge  in  the  shallow 


214  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

pond.  The  leaves  hung  out  on  every  tree,  and 
Bemah-gut,  the  Grapevine,  perfumed  the  air  with 
her  flowers. 

"Wenona  laughed  and  sang  all  that  summer 
through,  and  I,  Bek-wuk,  took  many  a  journey 
from  the  bow  of  Sacoit,  a  young  warrior  who  had 
bought  me.  But  I  always  returned  in  safety  to 
him,  for  he  shot  true  and  lost  no  arrows. 

"  Oh,  the  joy  of  flying  when  the  bowstring 
twangs !  Did  Swallow  dart,  I  darted  more 
swiftly !  Did  a  Wild  Duck  speed  by,  I  overtook 
it !  Did  a  Deer  bound  through  the  woodland, 
lightly  as  a  cloud  shadow,  I  bounded  after  him 
and  yet  was  there  to  meet  him ! 

"  With  the  harvest  came  yet  more  feasting  and 
singing.  Wenona  joined  the  other  women  in 
stripping  the  ears  of  Maize  from  eut  the  husks, 
and  I,  peeping  from  Sacoit's  quiver,  was  watching 
her. 

"As  she  parted  the  husks  a  blood  red  ear  of 
Maize  was  left  between  her  fingers.  This  rare 
red  ear  is  a  love  token  with  the  Red  Brothers, 
and  swift  as  I  fly  I  could  not  outspeed  the  glance 
that  sped  between  Sacoit  and  Wenona.  The  war- 
riors nodded  approvingly,  and  the  women  laughed 
and  jostled ;  but  from  that  moment  she,  who  had 
looked  Wabeno  in  the  face  unflinchingly,  grew 


BEK-WUK,   THE   ARROW  215 

pale  and  paler,  for  well  she  knew  she  must  not 
love  a  mortal ;  she  must  go  unwed  to  her  mother 
in  the  Morning  Star,  and  in  her  heart  she  yearned 
to  stay  near  Sacoit. 

"With  early  spring  strange  messengers  came  to 
the  village,  bringing  news  from  far-off  tribes,  and 
the  words  '  Stone  Giants '  were  often  heard.  One 
day  a  messenger  came  in  quite  spent  with  running, 
and  rested  in  Sacoit's  lodge,  and  as  he  told  his 
story  drew  it  also  in  picture  writing  on  the  skin 
top  of  a  drum, — a  picture  of  Red  Brothers  shoot- 
ing at  strange  men  whose  bodies  were  concealed 
all  but  the  face,  and  as  the  arrows  touched  them 
they  flew  backward. 

"  The  Sachems  held  long  counsels,  and  the 
women  made  the  warriors  ready  to  go  forth. 

"Soon  there  was  great  confusion,  —  warriors 
came  and  went,  returning  no  more.  I  learned 
that,  as  Wenona  had  said,  strange  people,  some 
with  stone  bodies,  had  come  and  seized  the  Red 
Man's  land,  people  against  whom  we  Arrows 
wrecked  ourselves  vainly,  people  of  fair  words 
who  yet  carried  Ishkodah,  the  Comet,  for  a 
weapon.  I  longed  to  see  them,  but  I  seemed 
forgotten. 

"  One  day  Sacoit  dashed  to  his  lodge,  seized  me, 
and  carried  me  to  the  council  rock  where  many 


216  WABEXO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

chiefs  assembled.  On  the  way  we  passed  Wenona, 
and  Sacoit  signed  to  her  that  she  should  touch  my 
point ;  thus,  for  the  second  time,  I  felt  the  magic 
of  her  fingers.  There  on  the  rock  lay  an  empty 
skin  of  a  gigantic  Bad  One ;  in  it  were  crammed 
some  arrows,  and  I  was  placed  with  them.  Soon 
Sacoit  left  for  a  long  journey,  carrying  the  snake 
skin  full  of  arrows  with  him. 

"Many  days  we  travelled,  resting  but  never 
sleeping,  until  we  were  close  upon  a  clearing  such 
as  I  had  never  seen  among  Red  Brothers.  There 
were  no  wigwams  like  theirs,  but  strange,  square 
lodges  built  of  the  trunks  of  trees  laid  crosswise, 
with  traplike  openings  in  them,  and  strange  beasts 
were  walled  in  pits  and  pens. 

"  As  I  gazed  from  out  the  skin  of  Crotalus,  my 
eyes  saw  a  Stone  Giant  walking  toward  one  of 
these  lodges.  The  picture  writing  said  truly,  his 
body  was  covered  all  but  the  face,  and  as  he 
walked  slowly  and  heavily  the  covering  that  he 
wore  glistened  in  the  light,  and  I  knew  it  could 
not  be  stone." 

"It  must  have  been  armour  —  steel  armour," 
interrupted  Anne.  "  You  know,  Bek-wuk,  when 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  first  came  over  to  settle  in 
this  country  it  was  so  long  ago  that  some  of  them 
wore  kind  of  steel  coats  and  hats  to  protect  them 


BEK-WUK,   THE  ARROW  217 

in  war,  and  if  the  Red  Brothers  had  never  seen 
any  before  I  don't  wonder  they  thought  them 
made  of  stone.  But  please  go  on — what  did 
Sacoit  do  with  the  arrows  ?  " 

"  When  it  grew  dark  he  slipped  between  the 
trees  and  going  to  the  lodge  entered  the  largest 
trap-hole.  I  thought  he  would  surely  be  caught, 
but  he  was  fearless.  In  the  lodge  were  many 
Stone  Giants  sitting  about  a  long  flat  board  raised 
from  the  ground,  but  they  did  not  sit  upon  skins 
spread  on  the  earth  like  warriors,  but  were  raised 
high  above  it." 

"  Of  course,  soldiers  would  sit  on  chairs  and 
benches,"  said  Anne. 

"  They  had  no  spears  or  bows  and  arrows  with 
them,  but  beside  each  rested  a  strange  stick  in 
which,  I  soon  learned,  they  held  Ishkodah,  the 
fire-tailed  Comet. 

"  When  Sacoit  entered  he  threw  the  skin  of 
Crotalus  before  the  one  that  seemed  the  chief  of 
these  Stone  Giants  ;  then  he  began  to  talk  in  sign 
language,  and  wrath  shone  from  his  face  and  from 
the  faces  of  the  others.  Only  Sacoit,  the  Messen- 
ger, was  silent  and  immovable. 

"  All  night  long  they  argued,  and  at  dawn  they 
gave  the  messenger  food  which  he  did  not  touch, 
and  the  chief  Giant,  emptying  the  arrows  from  the 


218  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

snake  skin,  put  in  it  hard  round  balls  and  hurled  it 
at  Sacoit,  with  loud  words  of  defiance. 

"  I  had  dropped  far  from  the  other  arrows,  and 
in  passing  out  Sacoit  seized  and  concealed  me, 
whom  Wenona  had  touched,  so  I  went  back  with 
him  to  bear  a  bitter  message  to  his  tribe.  When 
we  returned,  we  found  Wenona  had  gone." 

"  Then  war  began  ;  our  warriors  poured  down 
and  harried  the  Stone  Giants,  and  many  that 
were  with  them  were  not  of  stone,  and  we  arrows 
could  pierce  them,  and  flames  from  our  dry  sticks 
devoured  their  lodges. 

"What  it  was  all  about  I  knew  not;  but  I  saw 
balls,  such  as  Sacoit  bore  home,  fly  from  the  sticks 
the  Stone  Giants  carried  and  kill  our  young  men 
more  quickly  than  I  could  kill  a  wild  fowl.  Food 
was  scarce,  for  there  was  scant  time  for  hunting, 
and  maids,  women,  and  children  stayed  close  within 
the  village  upon  the  cliff  top. 

"  One  evening  Kaw-kaw  came  flapping  noiseless 
to  the  village, — an  ominous  sight  indeed, — and 
Ko-ko-ko-ho  exchanged  greetings  with  him  and 
flew  into  the  forest,  followed  by  all  the  colony  of 
birds  of  field  and  tree. 

"Apuk-wa,  the  Bulrush,  whispered,  'They 
come,  the  Stone  Giants  come,  —  Wabun  tells  it ! 


BEK-WUK,   THE  ARROW  219 

Listen  !  Annemeekee,  the  Thunder,  proclaims  it ! 
Creep  to  the  east  under  the  dark's  mantle ; 
attack,  Red  Brothers  ;  it  is  your  only  hope  !  ' 

"  So  the  warriors  crossed  the  river  and  crept 
downward  many  miles,  and  there,  when  Wawa- 
sa-mo,  the  Lightning,  played  its  pranks,  they  at- 
tacked the  camp  of  the  half -sleepy  foe.  Up  and 
down,  in  and  out  of  the  trees  they  fought,  but  the 
bullets  overmatched  poor  Bek-wuk's  tribe,  and  all 
the  earth  was  strewn  with  crippled  arrows.  The 
Red  Brothers  kindled  a  line  of  fire,  thinking  to  sur- 
round the  Stone  Giants  by  it,  but  were  themselves 
cut  off.  Kaniwa  was  slain,  and  Kanida,  and  then 
Sacoit,  after  shooting  me,  his  very  last  arrow. 

"  Of  the  women  and  children,  some  were  made 
prisoners  and  some  escaped  to  other  tribes,  but 
from  that  day  to  this  no  Red  Brothers  have  had 
their  lodges  on  the  cliff.  And  I  have  lain  buried 
all  these  years,  unhandled  by  maiden  fingers  from 
the  time  Wenona  touched  me  until  to-day,  when 
you,  of  the  Stone  Giants'  line,  have  picked  me  up." 

"  You  poor  darling  Bek-wuk,  I'm  going  to  keep 
you  always  and  have  a  gold  loop  put  in  you  and 
hang  you  around  my  neck.  To  think  that  all  this 
happened  in  our  field  !  But  why  did  the  sol- 
diers and  Red  Brothers  fight  ?  Which  was  really 


220  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

wrong  ?  I  can  never  quite  seem  to  find  out  ex- 
actly, except  that  both  wanted  the  land,  and  the 
strongest  got  it." 

"How  should  I  know?  I  am  but  an  Arrow- 
head. I  have  only  seen  a  glimpse  here  and  there, 
and  those  Red  Brothers  cannot  tell,  for  they  have 
all  gone  after  Wenona,  while  the  children  of  the 
Stone  Giants  flourish.  Who  was  right  and  who 
was  wrong  ?  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician. " 

A  shout  from  the  farther  side  of  the  field  called 
Anne's  attention  from  the  bits  of  stone  in  her  lap, 
and  she  dropped  them  into  her  pocket  again,  with 
the  exception  of  Bek-wuk,  which  she  held  care- 
fully in  her  hand. 

"Anne,  A-n-n-e,  where  a-r-e  you?"  called 
Tommy,  who  was  floundering  in  and  out  be- 
tween the  furrows  as  fast  as  his  short  legs 
would  carry  him. 

"  I  didn't  fink  you  were  under  the  twee  all  this 
time  ;  Baldy  said  you'd  done  home.  Baldy  and 
Obi've  done  home  to  dinner  tause  it's  twelve 
o'clock,  and  I  went  up  to  the  house  for  some 
bwead  and  'lasses,  tause  mother  lets  me  have 
some  if  I  work  out  all  the  morning  vely  hard; 
and  what  do  you  fink,  but  Lumberlegs  went  off 
wif  Waddles  yesterday,  but  he  didn't  come  back 


BEK-WUK,   THE  ARROW  221 

wif  him  last  night.  He's  tome  back  now  and  his 
face  is  all  stratched  to  pieces  and  one  eye  won't 
open.  Baldy  says — he  says  Waddles  took  him 
away  to  fight  the  Miller's  cat." 

"  Poor  Lumberlegs  !  I  must  go  up  and  try  to 
cure  his  poor  face,"  sighed  Anne.  "  I  don't  see 
how  Waddles  can  be  so  wicked,  for  he  came  home 
himself  last  night  and  never  said  a  word  about  it." 

"Oh,  I've  tured  Lumberlegs  all  nice,"  said 
Tommy,  gleefully,  "and  put  him  in  the  wood 
house  to  go  asleep;  he  was  vely,  vely  tired." 

"  How  did  you  cure  him  ?  Would  he  let  you 
wash  his  face  ?  " 

"  No,  I  didn't  wash  it ;  I  just  sticked  all 
the  stratches  up  and  the  hurt  eye  wif  the  nice 
spool  of  sticky  plaster  the  Doctor  dave  you,  and  I 
rubbed  some  of  the  white  butter  out  of  your  china 
box  on  to  the  places  between." 

"  Tommy  !  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you've 
taken  all  the  ointment,  and  the  lovely  rubber 
sticking-plaster  that  the  Doctor  gave  me,  and 
smeared  it  all  over  that  dog  ?  Don't  you  know 
it  didn't  belong  to  you  in  the  first  place,  and  that 
it's  very  wrong  to  put  sticking-plaster  on  to  dirty 
wounds  that  haven't  been  washed,  because  it  makes 
the  sickness  all  grow  inside  and  be  poison  ?  "  said 
Anne  very  crossly,  for  her. 


222  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"You  said — the  fings  in  your  box — was  —  for 
—  accidents  —  and  an  —  accident  —  hap-pened  to 
Lumber-legs  —  and  I  didn't  mean  to  —  poison 
him  — "  and  Tommy  began  to  sob,  for  he  loved 
Anne  dearly,  and  really  never  intentionally  both- 
ered her  or  meddled  with  her  things. 

"  Now  don't  cry  but  come  up  and  help  me  get 
some  warm  water  and  wash  the  plaster  off,"  said 
Anne,  patting  him  and  hurrying  off  toward  the 
house.  "  You  meant  well,  but  being  a  doctor  is 
very  important  work,  because  I  heard  father  say 
once  the  distance  between  kill  and  cure  is  less 
than  a  mile — though  I  don't  exactly  know  why 
our  doctor  laughed  so  when  father  said  it." 

Lumberlegs  was  indeed  a  funny  sight.  When 
Anne  opened  the  wood-house  door  he  crawled  out, 
tired  and  footsore,  with  his  face  smeared  with  oint- 
ment, mixed  with  the  molasses  from  Tommy's  rin- 
gers, and  rags  of  sticking-plaster,  which  he  had 
vainly  tried  to  rub  off,  hanging  to  his  ears. 

While  Tommy  had  gone  for  some  warm  water, 
Waddles  sauntered  in,  giving  his  chum  a  friendly 
little  lick  on  the  nose  as  he  passed. 

"  How  did  this  happen,  sir  ? "  asked  Anne, 
sternly. 

"  Well,  you  see,  missy,  the  Miller's  cat  took 
three  of  Tommy's  white  banties,  and  I  promised 


BEK-WUK,   THE  ARROW  223 

their  hatch-mother,  the  fat  brown  Hen,  that  we 
would  teach  him  a  lesson.  So  yesterday  when  we 
were  speaking  to  Tiger  about  it,  and  telling  him 
what  we  would  do  to  him  if  he  ever  came  over 
our  side  of  the  river  again,  he  jumped  right 
down  on  Lumberlegs'  head  and  clawed  and  spit. 
Then  Lumberlegs  ran  away  and  shook  Tiger  off, 
but  he  would  follow  Tiger  on  down  to  the  mill. 
I  said  he'd  better  come  home,  but  he  preferred  to 
wait  and  watch  out  there  all  night." 

"  Where  is  Tiger  now  ?  "  asked  Anne,  laughing 
in  spite  of  herself. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly,  —  that  is,  I'm  not  quite 
sure,"  said  Waddles,  hesitatingly. 

"Did  Baldy  tell  you  what  had  become  of 
Tiger  ? "  said  Anne  to  Tommy,  as  he  returned 
with  the  water. 

"  Baldy  didn't  know  zactly,  but  he  said  Tiger 
was  where  he  wouldn't  eat  any  more  Banties  and 
Pigeons,  so  I  dess  he's  a  long  way  off,  tause  Tiger 
tould  jump  and  climb  'most  everywhere." 

"  I  think  the  Chippie  Sparrow  in  the  Snowball 
bush  is  very  glad,"  said  Waddles  to  Anne,  "  be- 
cause Tiger  winked  at  her  yesterday  and  said, 
4  I'll  let  you  off  to-day  so  you  can  hatch  those  eggs, 
and  next  week  when  I  come  around  there'll  be 
five  of  you  for  my  luncheon  instead  of  one  ! ' : 


224  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

That  evening  as  Anne  stood  at  the  back  gate 
looking  down  over  the  fields  toward  the  far-away 
river,  woods,  and  mountain,  she  thought  of  all  Bek- 
wuk  had  said  and  of  the  Red  Brothers  who  had 
vanished  so  long  ago,  and  she  took  the  Arrow-head 
from  her  pocket  and  held  it  toward  the  setting 
sun. 

"  To  think  that  a  bit  of  stone  should  have  seen 
so  much,"  she  whispered;  "it  makes  all  my  arith- 
metic and  spelling  lessons  seem  such  very  little 
things." 

"  Anne,  Anne ! "  cried  Tommy  rushing  up  the 
road,  breathlessly,  "  the  Gypsies  have  been  here 
and  nobody  knew  it  until  they  runned  away  again. 
They  stoled  a  horse  somewhere  else  and  the  people 
it  belonged  to  are  chasing  for  them  —  and  they 
left  a  poor  hungry  miser'ble  Bobtailed  Horse  up 
in  Miss  Jule's  old  barn  by  the  woods,  and  she  and 
Baldy  are  going  up  to  see  it  —  and  Baldy  says 
they've  left  a  wild  dog  up  there,  too,  that'll  have  to 
be  shooted  maybe;  it's  a  Widow  Dog  with  some 
poor  little  puppies  that  have  no  father,  and  it's 
vely  tross  and  wild.  Wouldn't  you  just  love  to 
see  a  tross  wild  Widow  Dog  ?  I  would,  but  Miss 
Jule  wouldn't  let  me  go.  You  come  and  beg  her 
wif  me,  won't  you  ?  " 


Tl?e  U/idou;  Dog 


NNE  knew  very  well  that 
if  Miss  Jule  said  no  she 
meant  it.     So  instead  of 
going    down    to    the    Horse    Farm    with 
Tommy  to  beg  for  a  peep  at  the  wild  sad 
Widow  Dog,  and  the  Bobtailed  Horse,  she 
coaxed  him  home  with  the  promise  that  Baldy 
would    tell    them    all    about    the    affair    in    the 
morning. 

"  Besides,  Tommy,"  said  Anne,  "  you  know  that 
though  Miss  Jule  doesn't  like  to  be  teased  she 
may  change  her  mind  by  to-morrow  if  she  sees  a 
good  reason,  and  then  no  will  turn  into  yes  with- 
out any  begging." 

Meanwhile  Miss  Jule  and  Baldy  were  making 
Q  225 


226  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

their  way  to  the  old  barn  on  the  wood  edge.  A 
grass-grown  lane  led  to  this  barn  from  the  high- 
way ;  but  it  had  not  been  in  use  for  many  years, 
and  bushes  and  ferns  grew  where  the  wheel  tracks 
had  been. 

To-day,  however,  the  undergrowth  was  trampled 
down,  whisps  of  hay  festooned  the  bushes,  and 
fresh  horse  tracks  could  be  seen  everywhere. 

"  They  must  have  lit  out  in  a  pretty  consider- 
able sort  of  a  hurry  —  look  a  here  !  "  said  Baldy, 
picking  up  a  good  halter.  "  Laud  alive  !  if  here 
ain't  one  o'  them  new  horse  sheets  that  they've 
jest  got  in  down  at  the  harness  shop,"  he  con- 
tinued, lifting  a  heap  of  checked  linen  that  had 
lodged  on  a  chestnut  stump.  "  See,  they  wuz 
drivin'  careless  and  the  for'ard  wheel  hit  the 
stump  and  slewed  this  stuff  off.  I  should  jedge 
by  the  signs  that  they  must  a  left  airly  yesterday 
mornin',  and  a  good  job,  too  !  Mighty  strange 
how  they  crep'  in  here  unbeknown  !  " 

"  Don't  dilly-dally  around  here  picking  up  stuff 
that  can't  run  away,  when  there's  a  horse  and  a 
dog  up  there  that,  according  to  your  reckoning, 
have  had  no  food  or  drink  since  yesterday  morn- 
ing," said  Miss  Jule,  striding  along  without  giving 
a  glance  at  the  blanket  that  Baldy  was  stopping 
to  shake  out  and  fold. 


THE   WIDOW  DOG  227 

"  Yes,  bring  it  along,  we  may  need  it  to  put 
over  the  horse  when  we  lead  it  down  to  the  farm. 
Ah,  it  hears  our  voices  and  whinnies." 

"  You  surely  aren't  goin'  to  take  an  old,  broken- 
down  tramp  horse,  with  glanders  likely  enough, 
down  to  the  farm.  If  it  wuz  fit  for  anything 
them  gypsy  thieves  wouldn't  a  left  it  behind," 
objected  Baldy,  stoutly. 

But  Miss  Jule  did  not  answer ;  she  had 
reached  the  door  by  this  time,  and  standing  aside 
threw  it  wide  open  to  let  in  the  light.  A  low 
growl  came  from  one  corner,  a  joyful  whinny 
from  the  other. 

"  Do  mind  yourself,  miss,"  implored  Baldy.  "  I 
had  orter  brought  a  gun  !  " 

"  Gun  !  "  snorted  Miss  Jule,  contemptuously ;  "  I 
never  saw  an  animal  yet  that  I  thought  was  as 
dangerous  as  a  twopenny  pop-gun.  Take  that 
old  pail  and  get  some  water.  The  horse  has  a 
few  whisps  of  weed  hay  left,  but  must  be  choked 
with  thirst." 

Baldy  trotted  obediently  off  to  the  brook,  and 
Miss  Jule  turned  her  attention  to  the  corner  from 
which  the  growl  came.  Two  blazing  blood-shot 
eyes  were  all  she  saw  at  first,  then  as  she  became 
accustomed  to  the  dim  light  the  growl  took  shape. 
There,  chained  to  a  post,  was  a  large  brindled 


228  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

bull  dog,  and  huddled  beside  her,  in  a  dusky  heap, 
were  three  puppies  a  month  or  more  old. 

Chained,  with  no  food  or  water  for  two  days, 
and  a  family  dependent  upon  her,  it  was  no  wonder 
that  this  poor  Widow  Dog  looked  gaunt  and  wild- 
eyed.  Besides,  as  Miss  Jule  knew,  a  bull  dog  at 
best  is  not  apt  to  be  very  amicable  to  the  general 
public,  and  when  a  female  fears  that  her  pups 
may  be  harmed,  watch  out ! 

Miss  Jule  had  at  first  intended  to  unchain  the 
dog,  but  seeing  good  reasons  she  changed  her 
mind,  as  Anne  had  said  she  sometimes  did.  In- 
stead, she  unrolled  a  paper  parcel  that  she  had 
brought,  took  from  it  some  scraps  of  food  and  a 
bottle,  and  then  looked  about  for  some  sort  of  a 
dish.  She  discovered  a  rusty  tin  pan  that  had 
been  used  to  hold  food  for  the  birds  the  previous 
winter.  Into  this  she  poured  a  little  milk  from 
the  bottle  and  went  out  of  the  barn. 

At  the  sight  of  the  food  the  dog  stopped  growl- 
ing, raised  her  head,  sniffed  eagerly,  and  began 
to  tremble. 

Miss  Jule  returned  with  a  stick  she  had  cut, 
put  the  pan  of  milk  on  the  floor,  then  pushed 
it  very  carefully  within  reach  of  the  dog,  who 
crawled  forward,  showing  that  something  was  the 
matter  with  her  right  front  paw.  Before  she 


THE   WIDOW   DOG  229 

could  get  even  a  taste  of  the  milk,  the  pups  had 
scrambled  into  the  dish  and  gobbled  it  up. 

This  time  Miss  Jule  ventured  to  refill  the  dish 
where  it  was,  and  as  the  mother  took  a  comforta- 
ble drink  the  pups  ran  out  on  the  floor  and  began 
to  sniff  at  the  food  scraps,  and  rolled  over  and 
over,  trying  to  play  and  make  friends.  Instantly 
their  mother  sprang  to  the  length  of  her  chain 
and  growled  savagely,  but  Miss  Jule  spoke  cheer- 
fully to  her,  pushed  some  meat  within  her  reach, 
and  began  to  pet  the  pups,  showing  that  she  did 
not  mean  to  hurt  them. 

Baldy  came  back  and  the  horse  was  given  water, 
a  few  swallows  at  a  time,  until  he  had  had  as 
much  as  was  good  for  him. 

"  Lead  him  outdoors,"  said  Miss  Jule,  "  and  let 
me  see  what  sort  of  an  animal  he  is." 

Baldy  obeyed,  and  uneven  hoof  steps  crossed 
the  floor  and  stumbled  over  the  door-sill  to  the 
grass,  which  the  horse  began  to  crop  eagerly. 

"  Humph !  lame  f  or'ard,  quarter  crack,  and  shoes 
off  both  hind  feet,"  ejaculated  Miss  Jule,  as  she 
walked  about,  surveying  him  on  all  sides.  "  Worn 
out,  —  no  particular  disease,  a  bone  spavin  in  that 
for'ard  joint,  corns  in  the  hoofs  from  bad  shoeing, 
—  just  worn  out  and  discouraged,  that's  all.  Very 
good  frame,  though,  good  bone,  very  good  bone; 


230 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


let's  see  your  teeth,  old 
man.  There  then,  not  so 
bad.  I  don't  believe  you're 
more  than  eighteen;  we'll 
fix  you  up  and  you'll  have 
some  good  times  yet.  A 
nice  rest,  with  your  shoes 
off,  in  a  soft  pasture  — how  would  that  suit,  eh  ?  " 
The  horse  rubbed  his  head  against  Miss  Jule's 
sleeve,  and  seemed  to  thank  her  with  a  quiver  of 
its  soft  wrinkled  nose  ;  presently  she  started  so 
suddenly  that  he  drew  his  head  back  as  if  fearing 
a  blow. 

"Baldwin,"  she  cried,  "look  at  that  tail!     Was 
there  ever  anything  so  hopeless  ?     Yet  there  are 


THE   WIDOW  DOG  231 

fools  who  insist  that  docking,  cruelty  aside,  is 
beautiful." 

The  horse's  tail  had  been  docked  as  short  as 
possible,  the  hair  having  been  mostly  rubbed  off 
by  an  ill-fitting  harness,  or  else  shed  through  lack 
of  care  ;  a  bare  stump  took  the  place  of  the  fringy 
ornament  Nature  gives  even  the  most  lowly  born 
of  horses. 

"  Something  will  have  to  be  done  about  that 
tail,"  continued  Miss  Jule  to  herself  ;  "  I've  never 
had  a  docked-tailed  horse  on  the  farm,  nor  the 
Squire  either.  Yes,  something  will  have  to  be 
done,  though  I  don't  know  just  what. 

"  Baldwin,  look  here  !  "  she  exclaimed  again  in 
a  few  moments,  "do  you  see  that  strange  white 
star  blaze  on  his  face  ?  That  is  like  the  blaze  on 
old  Fencer,  the  big  black  mare  the  Squire  used  to 
keep  \vhen  I  was  a  bit  of  a  schoolgirl,  and  I've 
never  seen  the  mark  on  any  other  stock.  I  believe 
this  is  one  of  her  foals.  If  it's  so,  I  can  prove  it 
by  the  stud  sale  book.  You  dear  old  beast,  do 
you  know,  maybe,  you're  coming  home  again  ?  Do 
you  think  you  will  remember  the  stables  and  the 
brook  ?  You'll  find  everything  just  the  same, 
except  the  Squire  isn't  there,  and  you'll  have  to 
put  up  with  me  instead. 

"  To  think  of  it,  you  may  have  belonged  to  the 


232  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

farm  in  the  old  days!  "  and  Miss  Jule,  the  strong- 
minded  woman,  whom  no  horse-dealer  in  the 
county  could  outwit,  put  her  head  on  the  rough 
neck  of  the  wretched  old  horse  and  hugged  him, 
as  if  she  were  no  older  than  Anne  herself. 

"  Yes,  it's  likely  to  be  one  of  Fencer's  foals  ; 
but  what's  the  good  of  him  ?  Do  your  best,  you 
can't  fix  him  up  to  bring  but  a  few  dollars,  and 
what  with  doctorin'  the  spavin  and  shoein'  and 
feedin',  he'll  cost  you  ten  dollars  to  the  start. 
Now  my  advice'll  be  to — jes' — shoot  —  " 

"  Baldwin,  when  I  ask  advice  you  may  give  it; 
lead  this  horse  down  to  the  farm  and  put  him 
in  the  hay  barn  with  the  work  team.  I  will  follow 
with  the  dogs,"  said  Miss  Jule,  pointing  down  the 
lane  and  with  a  look  in  her  eye  that  explained 
why  she  could  train  colts  without  ever  using  a 
whip. 

"  Now,  old  dog,  you  feel  better.  Good  milk  and 
meat,  wasn't  it  ?  Do  you  think  you're  pleasant 
enough  to  be  unchained  and  walk  down  to  my 
house  ?  Yes,  you  do  ?  Wagging  your  tail  is  a 
good  sign,  but  how  shall  we  move  the  pups  ?  Sup- 
pose I  carry  two,  and  we  let  the  other  one  walk 
to  keep  you  company.  Yes,  you  understand, 
don't  you  ? 

"  Ah,  your  poor  paw  !  "  she  exclaimed  as  the 


THE   WIDOW  DOG  233 

Bull  Dog,  on  being  unchained,  began  to  limp 
along  ;  "  some  brute  has  given  you  a  hateful  kick; 
but  we'll  fix  that  all  right,  for  the  bone  isn't 
broken.  A  bath  and  some  liniment,  a  new  collar, 
a  clean  straw  bed,  and  you  won't  know  yourself," 
she  continued  gayly.  "  Not  that  you  are  pretty 
and  you're  not  young,  but  you've  got  good  points 
for  your  breed,  and  what  else  can  be  expected  of 
anybody  ? 

"  Do  you  happen  to  remember  your  name  ?  Is 
it  Bruiser  ?  Buster  ?  Betty  ?  Brindle  ?  "  But  as 
the  dog  seemed  equally  indifferent  with  each  of 
these  names  Miss  Jule  was  forced  to  think  that 
she  either  had  no  name  or  else  had  been  called  by 
a  great  many.  At  any  rate  the  poor  creature  was 
convinced  of  the  kindness  of  the  intentions  regard- 
ing her  pups  and  the  procession  started,  Miss  Jule 
shortening  her  vigorous  steps  to  suit  both  the 
puppy,  who  walked  with  a  sidewise  kittenish  gait, 
and  the  Widow,  who  hobbled. 

"  I  don't  know  what  I  shall  do  with  these  beasts, 
I'm  sure,"  said  Miss  Jule  to  no  one  in  particular, 
as  she  walked  along. 

"  Something  will  turn  up,  I  suppose  ;  mean- 
while I  must  keep  them  out  of  the  way  of  Tommy. 
He  would  be  sure  to  meddle  with  the  pups,  and 
then  the  Widow  would  chew  him  up.  Perhaps 


234  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

one  of  the  pups  might  make  a  good  chum  for  him, 
though ;  they  are  of  a  faithful  breed.  Xo,  that 
would  never  do  ;  they  wouldn't  countenance  a 
brindled  Bull  Dog  up  at  Happy  Hall. 

"  Heigho  !  here  we  are  at  home.  I  can't  have 
a  strange  dog  about  with  other  animals  unless  it's 
had  a  bath,  and  as  I  don't  think  any  of  the  stable- 
men will  fancy  the  job,  and  would  probably  use 
the  hose  and  chill  the  poor  thing,  I'll  do  it  myself. 

"  Baldwin,"  she  called,  as  she  spied  that  useful 
man  going  up  toward  his  own  house  with  his  hat 
pulled  farther  down  over  his  ears  than  usual, 
"  Baldwin,  I  wish  you'd  keep  your  eye  on  Tommy 
and  see,  for  a  few  days,  that  he  doesn't  come  down 
here  when  I'm  away  and  try  to  make  friends  with 
that  Bull  Dog." 

"  Yes,  mum,  I'll  mind  Tommy.  But  suppose 
the  Gypsies  lays  claims  to  their  property  some  day 
when  you've  got  it  all  reg'lated." 

"  Lay  claim  !  "  cried  Miss  Jule  ;  "  I'll  have  them 
arrested  for  stealing  the  halter  and  blanket  and 
breaking  into  my  barn  and  trespassing  on  my 
land.  Lay  claim,  indeed  !  " 

So  Baldy  offered  no  more  objections,  but  giving 
his  hat  an  extra  pull  hurried  up  the  road. 

A  patient  study  of  her  father's  books  satisfied 
Miss  Jule  that  the  old  horse  was  no  other  than 


THE   WIDOW  DOG  285 

Fox,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Squire's  famous  mare 
Fencer,  broken  to  saddle  in  his  fourth  year  and 
sold  to  a  well-known  rider.  All  the  dates  fitted 
together,  and  so  Fox  found  himself  treated  with 
the  respect  due  to  a  long-lost  friend  —  something, 
by  the  way,  that  he  did  not  quite  understand. 

"  I  wish  we  knew  who  docked  his  tail,  and 
what  he  has  been  doing  all  these  years,"  said 
Anne  when  Miss  Jule  told  her  the  story  a  week 
later;  "it  would  be  so  interesting  to  know  just 
how  a  horse  feels  about  things,"  —  then  adding 
to  herself,  "  maybe  he'll  tell  me  some  day  when 
we  are  alone,  —  horse  talk  ought  to  be  real  easy 
to  understand  after  frog  and  toad  and  arrow  lan- 
guages. 

"  Miss  Jule,  I  don't  think  you  need  worry  any 
more  about  Tommy's  wanting  to  see  the  Bull  Dog, 
because  he  hasn't  even  spoken  about  her  since  that 
very  first  day,  and  he's  ever  so  busy  nowadays 
going  with  the  plough  and  Baldy,  and  he  and  Lum- 
berlegs  seem  to  be  getting  along  better  together." 


A  few  days  after  this  something  very  strange 
happened.  Tommy  was  lost.  His  mother  and 
the  maids  hunted  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
house  from  the  cellar  to  the  attic,  where  he  often 


236  WABENO,    THE    MAGICIAN 

went  to  feed  a  pair  of  Red  Squirrels  who  lodged 
under  the  eaves. 

His  father  searched  the  barns  and  outbuildings 
and,  finally,  sick  at  heart,  peered  down  the  old 
open  well  in  the  pasture.  Anne  had  not  seen 
her  Jbrother,  for  she  had  been  doing  her  usual 
morning  lessons  in  the  study.  Baldy,  who  was 
bringing  the  work  horses  in  for  their  noonday 
meal,  said,  "  He  stayed  with  me  a  piece,  along  back 
in  the  mornin',  and  then  said  he  was  hungry  and 
I  reckoned  he  went  up  home." 

The  cook  furnished  the  latest  news,  saying  that 
Tommy  had  come  in  about  ten  o'clock  and  asked 
for  some  pieces,  to  feed  the  dogs  she  supposed. 
"But  he  were  very  perticular,  mum  —  he  wanted 
bread  and  butter  and  meat  to  make  '  samwiches,' 
he  said,  and  I  did  be  tellin'  him  butter  was  waste- 
ful fer  dogs,  and  he'd  have  to  put  up  with  lard, 
mum,  which  he  did." 

This  gave  the  family  new  hope,  that  is,  until 
Waddles  and  Lumberlegs  were  found  below  the  gar- 
den watching  a  Woodchuck  hole,  but  no  Tommy. 

"  Perhaps  Miss  Jule  may  have  come  home  and 
he  has  seen  her  go  by  on  the  way  from  the  station 
and  followed  her,"  suggested  Anne. 

"  She  is  home,  fer  certin,"  said  Baldy,  "  and  it 
won't  do  no  harm  to  go  see." 


THE    WIDOW  DOG  237 

* 

By  this  time  the  little  village  had  been  ran- 
sacked,—  store,  postoffice,  and  all, — with  no  re- 
sults ;  and  a  party,  consisting  of  Anne,  her  father, 
and  mother  in  the  buckboard,  with  Baldy  and 
Waddles  following,  went  to  the  Horse  Farm. 

Disappointment  again.  Miss  Jule  had  seen 
nothing  of  Tommy,  neither  had  any  of  the  grooms 
or  stable-men,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  pet. 

While  the  older  people  were  holding  a  consul- 
tation Anne  walked  sadly  about  the  barns,  Wad- 
dles following,  running  to  and  fro  and  sniffing 
here  and  there  with  a  mysterious  look  in  his  face. 

"  Missy,"  he  whispered,  as  soon  as  they  were 
out  of  sight  of  the  others,  stopping  before  one  of 
the  smaller  barns,  "missy,  I  don't  like  to  tell 
tales,  because  you  say  it's  a  mean  trick,  but  my 
nose  says  Tommy's  in  here." 

"  Tommy  in  here  !  Why,  Waddles,  how  can 
that  be  ?  This  is  where  the  Bull  Dog  lives  and 
it's  locked  up  and  Miss  Jule  keeps  the  key.  You 
must  have  a  cold  and  so  your  smell  is  crooked." 

"  No,  missy,  Tommy  is  in  here,  and  the  ground 
says  he  didn't  go  in  by  the  door.  You'd  better 
ask  the  people  to  look,  only  don't  mention  me  in 
the  matter.  I'm  no  spoil-sport,"  said  Waddles, 
loftily,  holding  his  tail  at  an  extra  angle. 

"  This  isn't  telling  tales,"  cried  Anne,  stooping 


288  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

to  hug  him.  "It's  what  father  calls  'imparting 
necessary  information ' ;  and  oh,  Waddles,  don't 
you  see  it  is  very  necessary  for  us  to  stop  mother's 
face  from  growing  whiter  and  whiter  —  and  noth- 
ing will  except  finding  Tommy." 

Waddles  stood  on  guard,  very  well  pleased  with 
himself,  while  Anne  flew  back  saying,  with  an  ef- 
fort not  to  appear  excited,  ;'  Miss  Jule,  would  you 
mind  looking  in  the  little  barn  where  the  Bull  Dog 
lives?" 

"  Bless  me,  child,  what  for  ?  "  cried  Miss  Jule, 
looking  quite  startled  as  an  idea  struck  her,  and 
then  adding,  "  of  course  I  will  look,  but  it's  use- 
less, for  the  key  is  kept  on  my  desk  and  I've 
cautioned  the  men  about  leaving  the  door  open 
after  feeding  her.  That  dog  has  been  restless 
and  tugging  at  her  chain  for  the  last  two  days, 
the  men  say  ;  but  the  pups  are  weaned  and  I  sup- 
pose, of  course,  she  doesn't  care  so  much  for  them, 
and  wants  to  get  away." 

All  the  same,  Miss  Jule  sent  for  the  key  very 
quickly  and  they  hastened  to  the  barn,  crowding 
together  as  the  door  was  opened,  so  that  Anne  had 
to  spring  inside  to  keep  from  falling. 

Miss  Jule,  who  was  the  nearest,  stifled  the  cry 
that  rose  to  her  lips,  and  put  out  her  hand  with  a 
gesture  to  command  silence.  There,  seated  on  a 


THE   WIDOW  DOG 


239 


pile  of  straw,  was  Tommy,  one  pup  on  his  knees, 
the  others  playing  between   his   feet,  while   the 

great  Bull  Dog  was  nes- 
tled close  to  him,  looking 
up  with  a  gaze  of  deep 
affection,  and  now  and 
then  licking  the  end  of 
his  nose  and  chin  very 
gently. 

On  seeing  the  group 
of  people  at  the  door, 
who  were  too  much  sur- 
prised at  first  to  speak, 
Tommy  put  the  puppy 


240  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

down  very  carefully  and  ran  toward  them,  seem- 
ing a  little  bewildered  that  they  were  so  quiet, 
and  then  discovering  that  his  mother,  to  whom  he 
went  first,  had  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  Oh,  Tommy,  how  could  you  be  so  naughty  as  to 
run  away  and  frighten  us  all  so  ?  Suppose  that 
dog  had  torn  you  to  pieces  !  "  was  all  she  said, 
hiding  her  face  in  his  dimpled  neck. 

"  But,  mother,  I  wasn't  naughty  ;  I  didn't  run 
away ;  I  only  corned  down  here  to  feed  the 
Widow  Dog  her  bweakfast.  You  never  told  me 
not  to  come  down,  and  I've  corned  five  or  seven 
days,  I  dess,  and  you  never  said  I  was  lost 
before." 

"  However  did  you  get  in  ?  "  asked  Miss  Jule. 

"  Frough  the  little  window  over  Fox's  feed 
box,"  said  Tommy,  frankly,  pointing  to  a  narrow 
sash  by  the  hay-rack  in  the  box-stall. 

"  You  came  in  through  that  slit  !  "  exclaimed 
his  father  in  astonishment. 

"  Yes,  father,  it  was  vely  tight,  but  I  earned  the 
narrow  way  of  me  and  pulled  like  mouses  comes 
between  boards,  only  it  did  stwash  the  sam- 
wiches.  Fox  didn't  understand  about  me  at 
first  and  he  nibbled  at  me,  but  I  splained  to 
him,  and  he  said  'all  right." 

"  Why  didn't  you  ask  Miss  Jule  to  let  you  see 


THE   WIDOW  DOG 


241 


the  dog  properly,  instead  of  creeping  in  the 
window  ?  " 

"I  was  doing  to  ask  to-morrow,  but  you  see 
Miss  Jule's  been  away.  I  did  ask  the  men 
and  they  said  they  didn't  have  the  key,"  said 
Tommy,  being  really  so  perfectly  innocent  of  any 
idea  of  wrong-doing  that  scolding  was  out  of 
place.  Then  he  returned  to  the  corner  and  cast- 
ing himself  on  the  straw  whispered  something  in 
the  alert  ears  and  put  his  chubby  face  close  to  the 
brindled  one.  In  a  moment  he  had  unsnapped 
the  chain  and  was  leading  the  Bull  Dog  to  Miss 
Jule. 

"  See  how  good  she  is.  I've  named  her  Lily  and 
she  knows  when  I  say  it, —  'Up,  Lily!'"  and  to 
every  one's  astonishment  the  tail  wagged  in  re- 
sponse and  she  put  her  front  paws  on  Tommy's 
sleeve. 

"  What  a  queer  name  for  such  an  ugly,  crooked- 
faced  dog,"  said  Anne. 

"  She  isn't  ugly,  she's  bootiful,  and  her  face  isn't 
trooked,  it's  only  a  little  wee  bit  bent,  and  I  love 
bent-faced  dogs,  and  I've  'dopted  her,  same  as 
Waddles  has  Lumberlegs,  to  be  my  vely  own ! " 
Then  as  the  possibility  of  losing  her  struck  him, 
he  gasped  :  — 

"  You'll  buy  her   for   me,   won't  you,  father  ? 


242  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

Anne,  you'll  beg  father  to  buy  her  ;  you  promised 
you'd  ask  father  to  buy  me  a  nice  little  dog  that 
I'd  like  —  don't  you  'member  you  did  ever  so 
long  back  ?  " 

"  But  this  isn't  a  little  dog  ;  she's  bigger  than 
Waddles,  and  maybe  Miss  Jule  won't  sell  her," 
said  Anne. 

"  I  don't  care  if  she's  big  or  little,  she's  just 
the  right  size.  Oh,  you  will  sell  her,  Miss  Jule, 
won't  you,  for  my  red  bank  and  my  wheelbarrow 
and  my  white  mice  ?  I  haven't  shocked  the  bank 
since  Christmas,  and  the  white  mice  are  vely  nice 
pets ;  they  keep  growing  more  and  more  'most 
every  night.  You'll  sell  me  Lily,  won't  you,  for 
all  that?" 

"No,"  said  Miss  Jule,  "I  won't  sell  her,"  — 
Tommy's  father  and  mother  looked  relieved,  — 
"  but  I'll  give  her  to  you."  They  looked  amazed, 
and  his  mother  said,  "  Really,  Julia,  do  you  think 
it  safe  ?  How  about  the  other  dogs  ?  " 

"  Safe  !  Tommy  will  be  as  safe  as  if  he  had 
an  escort  of  mounted  police  with  him.  When  a 
child  and  a  Bull  Dog  fall  in  love  with  each  other 
at  first  sight,  it's  for  life.  As  to  the  other  dogs 
—  there  are  rules  in  dogland.  Waddles  and 
Lumberlegs  were  at  Happy  Hall  first ;  the 
Widow  will  understand  this  and  mind  her  own 


THE   WIDOW   DOG  243 

business  so  long  as  they  keep  away  from  her  food 
and  Tommy  !  " 

"  To  think  that  this  is  our  baby  who  has  tamed 
that  brindled  brute,"  sighed  Tommy's  mother  as 
they  followed  Lily  and  her  master  back  to  Happy 
Hall. 

"  One  good  thing,  my  dear,  you  need  worry  no 
more  about  the  child  being  stolen  by  Gypsies," 
said  Tommy's  father,  smiling  indulgently  as  he 
looked  at  the  sturdy  little  legs  and  the  face  beam- 
ing with  joy,  adding,  "Ah,  the  blessed  confi- 
dence of  young  animals  !  " 

****** 

Anne  and  Waddles  were  invited  to  lunch  with 
Miss  Jule  and  so  remained  behind.  While  her 
hostess  went  to  give  some  orders,  Anne  slipped 
back  to  the  barn  to  see  Fox. 

He  was  looking  brighter  and  better  already,  his 
spavin,  which  is  a  sort  of  sprain,  had  been 
blistered,  his  hoofs  trimmed  and  the  old  shoe  nails 
removed,  his  fetlocks  and  mane  clipped,  and  he 
was  having  special  food  to  make  him  shed  his 
ragged,  uncurried  winter  coat.  Still,  somehow,  he 
didn't  look  quite  happy. 

Anne  sauntered  up  and  down  the  barn  pulling 
whisps  of  straw  from  the  rack  and  wondering  to 
herself  about  Tommy  and  the  Widow  Dog. 


244  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"Why  didn't  she  bite  him  at  first  before  she 
knew  that  Tommy  was  going  to  love  her  ?  "  Anne 
said  half  aloud  ;  "  for  even  Miss  Jule,  who  isn't 
afraid  of  anything,  seemed  a  little  bit  scary." 

"  There  is  a  messenger  that  travels  with  real 
love,  whether  it  goes  among  men  or  beasts,  and 
prevents  it  from  being  misunderstood,"  said  Heart 
of  Nature's  voice,  wafting  along  with  the  fragrant 
breath  of  the  hay.  "  This  messenger's  name  is 
Confidence.  House  Child,  when  Love  speaks  to 
you  in  any  of  his  many  shapes,  be  sure  that 
Confidence  is  with  him.  If  he  is  not,  then  do  not 
listen  ;  it  is  only  a  trick  of  Wabeno,  the  Magi- 
cian, a  shadow  picture  from  Wagoose's  book." 

"  I  don't  quite  understand  how  this  messenger 
looks,  dear  Heart  of  Nature,"  said  Anne,  rather 
puzzled. 

"  When  the  poor  dog  looked  into  Tommy's  face 
she  saw  there  love  and  confidence.  When  you 
look  in  your  mother's  eyes,  you  see  love  and  confi- 
dence ;  when  she  in  turn  looks  in  your  father's, 
she  sees  love  and  confidence  there." 

"  Ah,  yes,"  said  Anne,  smiling  ;  "  yes,  I  remem- 
ber, I  know  that  look,  I've  seen  it." 

****** 

Fox  whinnied,  and  Anne  climbed  up  and  perched 
on  the  side  of  his  stall. 


THE   WIDOW   DOG 


245 


"  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  about  all  the  places 
you've  been  in  and  who  chopped  your  tail  off," 
she  said,  settling  herself  for  a  chat.    "  I  do  so  want 
to  know  what  horses  like  and  what 
they  don't,  then  when  I  have 
a  horse  of  my  very  own  next 
year    I    can    be   good   to   it. 
Maybe    you    think    I    can't 
understand     what 
=—      you   say,   but  I'm 
Anne  that  used  to 
be  Tommy- 


Anne  and  I  wear  the  Magic  Spectacles,  Fox  dear." 
"  You  understand  ?  Oh,  then  please  tell  me 
at  once  and  end  my  suspense,  is  Miss  Jule  curing 
me  to  keep  me  herself  or  am  I  to  be  sold  and  have 
to  move  on  again  ?  If  you  only  knew  how  tired 


246  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

I  am  of  moving  on  ;  I've  hardly  stayed  in  the  same 
place  six  months  at  a  time  since  I  was  twelve 
years  old." 

"  She's  going  to  keep  you,  you  funny  old  dear," 
said  Anne,  brushing  off  some  very  sticky  flies  that 
were  tickling  his  ears. 

"  Ah,"  sighed  Fox,  but  this  time  it  was  a  glad 
sigh,  "  I  haven't  been  so  happy  since  the  day  I 
left  my  first  master,  twelve  years  ago." 

"Do  tell  me  all  about  it,  only  you  must  stop 
chewing  and  talk  rather  quick,  because  it's  nearly 
time  for  luncheon." 

"  When  I  left  here  it  was  shortly  after  my 
fourth  birthday,  and  though  I  say  it  myself,  I  was 
a  beauty.  My  mother,  Fencer,  was  a  famous 
hunter,  and  I  had  her  broad  chest,  strong  haunches, 
and  straight  limbs. 

" '  How  finely  Fox  carries  his  ears  and  tail,'  said 
the  Squire,  my  master,  and  I  did. 

"  Colonel  Trevor's  head  groom  bought  me  and 
I  was  led  away  clad  in  a  beautiful  checked  blanket 
that  covered  me  all  but  the  eyes,  and  I  took  a  long 
ride  on  the  steam  cars.  When  I  arrived  at  my 
journey's  end,  I  was  led  before  the  Colonel. 

" '  Good  bone,  good  action,  too  much  tail,  — 
dock  it,'  was  all  he  said.  I  didn't  know  what  he 
meant,  for  I  had  never  heard  the  word  at  the  Horse 


THE  WIDOW  DOG  247 

Farm.  I  soon  learned.  Not  only  was  the  hair 
of  my  beautiful  tail  cut  away,  but  a  part  of  the 
bone  with  it,  leaving  a  miserable  bleeding  stump. 

"The  pain  and  soreness  was  bad  enough,  but 
when  it  was  over  and  I  took  my  place  as  a  saddle 
horse  and  saw  my  shadow  for  the  first  time,  I 
nearly  died  of  mortification.  However,  as  all  the 
horses  of  my  set  had  docked  tails,  I  soon  became 
used  to  it,  —  young  animals  like  to  be  in  the 
fashion,  you  know,  —  and  even  began  to  think  it 
stylish.  That  is,  until  fly  time,  then  I  nearly 
went  mad,  and  the  groom  being  stupid  mistook 
the  cause  of  my  restlessness,  laid  it  to  temper,  and 
put  the  rein  a  loop  lower  in  the  curb  bit. 

"  Still  I  enjoyed  myself  very  well  for  a  couple 
of  years.  Good  grooming,  good  food,  plenty  of 
exercise.  Then  the  Colonel  died,  and  I  was  sold 
to  a  lady  who  wanted  a  '  stylish,  well-bred  horse 
for  both  saddle  and  dog  cart.'  At  least  slie 
thought  she  did,  but  really  she  never  knew  exactly 
what  she  did  want  or  where  she  was  going.  She 
didn't  know  a  thing  about  Horse  People  and  be- 
lieved every  fairy  tale  that  the  groom  told  her. 

"  She  would  ride  me  every  day  for  a  week,  sit- 
ting all  lop-sided,  until  I  felt  myself  growing 
three-cornered.  The  next  week  she  would  drive 
me  in  the  cart,  jerking  me  around  corners,  and 


248  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

changing  her  mind  so  often  about  the  road  that 
my  mouth  grew  sore  at  first,  then  as  hard  as  iron. 

"  The  next  week  I  would  be  left  in  the  stable 
until  too  much  food  and  lack  of  exercise  gave  me 
colic,  and  I  had  to  be  led  up  and  down  the  road 
for  hours  and  my  stomach  rubbed  with  a  broom 
handle. 

"  I  lived  with  this  mistress  for  three  years,  and, 
though  I  was  never  abused,  I  lost  my  good  tem- 
per and  ruined  my  digestion.  Then  my  troubles 
began. 

"I  was  at  an  age  then  to  take  my  place  as  a 
good  steady  family  horse.  I  would  have  appre- 
ciated a  home  in  a  family  without  style,  but  who 
would  talk  to  me  and  consider  me  as  one  of  them- 
selves. There  is  nothing  that  middle-aged  horses 
enjoy  more  than  an  occasional  apple  or  carrot 
mixed  with  intelligent  conversation.  At  nine  a 
horse  prefers  '  Get  up,  Fox,  whoa,  Fox ! '  to  a  cut 
of  the  whip  and  a  jerk. 

"Alas!  my  docked  tail,  which  had  been  con- 
sidered quite  the  thing  in  my  youth,  was  now  an 
object  of  ridicule.  People  came  and  looked  at 
me,  nice,  pleasant-faced  people  with  whom  I  longed 
to  go,  but  one  would  say:  'Yes,  a  nice  face,  but 
that  tail  would  be  out  of  place  in  our  surrey.'  '  A 
good  horse,  and  a  cheap  one,  but  I've  always  set 


THE   WIDOW   DOG  249 

my  face  against  a  docked  tail,  and  I  don't  wish  the 
children  to  grow  used  to  one.'  'A  good-boned 
critter,  but  with  that  tail  he  ain't  no  airthly  use 
to  haul  truck  to  market  or  ter  stand  at  Meetin'  in 
fly  time.'  So  one  after  another  passed  me  by,  and 
a  grocer  finally  bought  me  to  drag  his  wagon. 

"The  work  was  hard  and  the  stable  not  very 
comfortable,  but  they  always  put  a  blanket  over 
me  in  cold  or  wet  weather,  which  was  something 
my  first  two  owners  never  remembered.  All  went 
well  for  three  years  more  until  one  sad  day,  well 
I  remember  it,  hot  and  muggy,  when  a  great 
stinging  horse-fly  fastened  himself  to  one  of  my 
flanks,  quite  out  of  reach  of  my  mouth.  The  tail 
that  Heart  of  Nature  gave  me  to  use  in  such 
emergencies  being  gone,  there  was  nothing  left 
for  me  to  do  but  run,  to  try  to  shake  the  creature 
off. 

"  I  ran,  the  wagon  overturned  and  hurt  a  little 
girl  and  wrecked  some  costly  goods.  No  one 
tried  to  find  the  cause  —  they  simply  sold  me. 

"  Then  I  moved  on,  always  from  worse  to  worse. 
In  the  time  between  then  and  now  I've  dragged 
an  ambulance,  an  ice  wagon,  a  butcher  cart,  a 
truck,  a  milk  wagon  all  through  the  freezing  early 
winter  mornings,  besides  doing  so  many  other 
things  it  would  take  a  day  to  tell  of  them. 


250  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  Finally,  the  worst  of  all  came !  I  was  har- 
nessed to  a  cheap  express  cart  to  run  with  trunks 
over  the  smooth,  icy  pavements  of  a  city.  House 
People  that  have  trunks  to  be  moved  seem  late 
and  always  in  a  hurry,  and  we  poor  horses  are 
whipped  if  we  cannot  make  up  the  time  they've 
lost. 

"  This  was  last  winter ;  I  struggled  to  do  my 
best,  but  one  day  I  fell  on  the  cruel  pavement, 
lamed  myself,  and  could  hurry  no  more.  For  two 
months  I  lived  on  musty  hay  in  a  filthy  stable, 
then  a  man  bought  me  for  ten  dollars,  and  with 
a  string  of  other  cripples  like  myself  started  out 
through  the  country. 

" '  Maybe  we'll  work  him  off  on  some  farmer,' 
he  said  to  his  partner,  punching  my  poor  ribs  and 
giving  a  sly  laugh ;  '  if  not,  he's  good  for  bones, 
eh?' 

"  You  know  the  rest,  and  it  is  very  good  to 
think  that  I'm  going  to  stay  here  now.  I  was 
afraid  Miss  Jule  might  dislike  me  and  sell  me 
again  because  of  my  poor  tail,  for  I  can  see  by 
my  shadow  all  the  hair  has  moulted  now.  I 
thought  she  might  be  ashamed  to  see  me  any- 
where about  the  farm.  You  see  that  all  my  mis- 
fortunes, first  and  last,  happened  because  my  tail 
was  docked." 


THE  WIDOW  DOG  251 

"  I'll  never  own  a  dock-tailed  horse,  never !  " 
said  Anne,  pounding  her  fist  upon  her  knees  em- 
phatically, — "  that  is,  I  mean,  I'll  never  let  my 
horse's  tail  be  docked.  Good-bye  now,  Fox,  for 
there's  the  luncheon  bell." 

****** 

Later  in  the  day  Anne  ran  into  the  barn  and 
putting  her  lips  close  to  Fox's  nearest  ear  whis- 
pered :  — 

"  I've  heard  a  great  secret !  Miss  Jule  has 
promised  to  send  you  to  pasture  for  all  the  hot 
weather,  and  then  in  the  fall  she's  going  to  let  me 
ride  on  you  all  by  myself  every  day.  Not  fast, 
you  know,  but  so  that  I  can  learn,  for  she  says 
you  are  of  a  reliable  stock,  and  that  a  big  old 
horse  is  better  for  a  child  to  ride  than  a  cranky 
little  pony." 

"Did  she  say  anything  about  my  tail?"  asked 
Fox,  anxiously. 

"•  Yes,  that  is  the  biggest  part  of  the  surprise 
yet !  Miss  Jule  asked  the  harness  maker,  and  he's 
going  to  fix  a  tail  to  the  crupper  strap  and  your 
stump  for  you  to  wear  when  you  go  out,  so  you 
will  look  all  right,  though  he  says  it  won't  wag  as 
well  as  if  it  grew  on." 

Fox  gave  a  whinny  of  joy,  and  Miss  Jule  com- 
ing in  said,  "  What  are  you  doing,  giving  him 


252 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


oats?     Be  careful,  we  must  feed  him  scantily  yet 
awhile." 

"  I  wasn't  feeding  him,  I  was  telling  him  about 
his  new  tail,"  replied  Anne,  forgetting  herself. 

"  How  do  you  manage  to  make  him  understand 
you?"  asked  Miss  Jule,  laughing. 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  said  Anne,  almost 
without  thinking. 

"What  strange  little  animals  children  are," 
sighed  Miss  Jule,  as  she  nearly  stepped  on  one  of 
the  pups.  "  Now  I  must  find  homes  for  these  — 
there  is  always  something 
to  bother  about." 

"  At  any  rate  Widow 
Dog  and  the  Bob-tailed 
Horse  are  both  happy,  dear 
Miss  Jule," 
said  Anne. 


XI 


DOG  council  was  being  held  behind 
the  barn  at  Happy  Hall.  There 
had  been  quite  a  quarrel  about  an 
old  kennel  that  once  belonged  to 
Waddles.  He  had  not  used  this 
kennel  for  years,  but  he  was  angry  because  Obi 
had  mended  it  and  put  fresh  straw  in  it  for  the 
Widow ;  for  it  had  been  decided  that  neither 
Lumberlegs  nor  Lily  were  to  sleep  in  the  big 
house. 

Waddles  was  sitting  in  the  doorway  of  the  ken- 
nel merely  to  keep  Lity  out.  Lily  looked  danger- 
ous and  red  in  the  eyes,  while  poor  Lumberlegs 

253 


254  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

being  frightened  had  trotted  down  to  the  Horse 
Farm  and  called  his  mother,  the  Duchess,  who  was 
respected  in  all  serious  matters  as  one  of  the  wis- 
est dogs  in  the  country,  besides  being  a  splendid 
fighter  who  seldom  fought. 

Waddles  and  the  Widow  stood  glowering  at 
each  other,  muttering  disagreeable  words,  while 
the  Duchess  had  a  very  serious  look  upon  her  face 
and  was  giving  them  some  good  advice  that  they 
did  not  like. 

"  I  was  here  first,  and  this  was  my  very  own 
house,"  said  Waddles,  as  if  that  settled  the  matter. 

"Very  true,"  replied  the  Duchess,  "that,  of 
course,  gives  you  the  right  to  choose  your  own  bed 
and  make  the  dog  rules  of  the  place;  but  it  is  no 
reason  why  you  should  think  that  you  are  the  only 
dog  in  the  world.  You  have  been  chosen  to  sleep 
indoors  and  be  a  House  Fourfoot;  you  are  Anne's 
pet,  but  there  are  other  dogs  that  are  quite  as 
pretty  and  clever." 

"Lumberlegs  is  good  looking  and  clever  at 
hunting,  but  what  is  the  Widow  good  for  any- 
way ?  "  said  Waddles,  rudely. 

"  I  was  made  to  take  hold  and  keep  hold,"  said 
Lily,  speaking  very  quietly  but  looking  angry. 
"  My  ancestors  were  trained  to  hold  fierce  bulls 
by  the  nose  without  flinching." 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE  255 

"  I  think  you  are  more  like  a  frog  than  a  dog," 
said  Waddles,  provokingly,  "  and  there  aren't  any 
wild  bulls  here  for  you  to  hold  besides." 

"  What  are  you  good  for  yourself,  if  I  may  ask, 
Mr.  Waddles?" 

"  I,  what  am  I  good  for  ?  Everything,  to  be  sure. 
In  the  first  place  I'm  a  House  Fourfoot  and  sleep 
indoors,  which  is  a  very  important  position  to  hold. 
Then  I  can  put  my  nose  to  the  ground  and  tell 
who  has  been  by,  and  where  they  are  going.  Be- 
sides, I  can  track  Rabbits  as  straight  as  a  die,  and 
I  sing  such  a  fierce  song  as  I  run  that  they  grow 
confused  and  forget  where  they  live." 

"  Oh,  so  you  are  a  Rabbit  Hound  and  earn  your 
living  that  way.  I  didn't  know  you  had  a  regu- 
lar trade,"  said  Lily,  apologetically. 

"  I  haven't,  exactly,"  said  Waddles,  hesitating, 
"  because  the  master  here  only  goes  Rabbit  hunting 
a  few  times  in  the  winter." 

"  What  were  you  made  for,  Lumberlegs  ?  "  asked 
Lily,  suddenly. 

"  Our  family  have  wide  feet  that  spread  and  do 
not  sink  in  snow  or  soft  ground.  We  were  made 
to  live  in  a  cold  country  and  to  find  people  who 
were  lost  in  the  snow  and  dig  them  out,  and  take 
the  news  of  them  to  our  masters,"  said  the  Duch- 
ess, answering  for  her  son. 


256  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I  shouldn't  think  you  could  do  much  at  your 
trade  about  here,  then,"  said  Lily,  cocking  one  ear 
wisely. 

"This  is  very  silly  talk,"  said  the  Duchess. 
"  Dogs  that  live  on  a  place  like  this  do  not  always 
work  at  their  trades;  they  are  guests  and  friends 
of  the  House  People,  and  they  should  earn  their 
livings  by  watching  out  that  nothing  goes  wrong 
on  the  farm,  and  should  keep  from  fighting  among 
themselves. 

"  No  one  can  tell  when  my  son  Lumberlegs  will 
have  a  chance  to  use  his  broad  feet,  or  Lily  her 
strong  grip,  or  Waddles  his  keen  nose,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  family.  Take  my  advice,  Waddles, 
you  watch  out  for  Anne;  and  you,  Lily,  take  good 
care  of  Tommy;  and,  Lumberlegs,  do  you  look 
big  and  wise  and  learn  to  bark  deep  down  in 
your  throat  and  take  good  care  of  everything. 

"Also  mind  your  own  business,  especially  at 
meal  times,  and  don't  even  sniff  and  look  at  each 
other's  plates,  and  be  very  particular  when  you 
bury  bones  to  mark  the  place,  so  that  you  will  not 
dig  up  some  one  else's  cache  and  find  that  a  harm- 
less beef  bone  has  turned  into  a  '  bone  of  conten- 
tion';" so  saying,  the  Duchess  turned  about  and 
marched  home,  leaving  the  trio  looking  very 
foolish. 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE  257 

This  was  the  reason  why  that  morning,  when 
Tommy  whistled  for  Lily  to  come  and  stay  with 
him  in  the  play  room,  because  he  had  a  queer  rash 
on  his  face  and  couldn't  go  out,  no  Lily  was  to  be 
found.  Anne  also  looked  vainly  for  Waddles  as 
she  started  with  Baldy  in  the  hay  wagon  to  go  to 
the  far-away  swamp  lots  and  bring  home  some 
pea  brush  that  had  been  cut  the  fall  before,  and 
snowed  under  before  it  could  be  brought  down. 

It  was  a  beautiful  drive  along  the  wood  road  ; 
all  the  trees  were  in  leaf,  and  the  air  was  full  of 
the  quaint  little  wing  songs  of  insects  as  well  as 
of  bird  music. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  hummed  Amoe,  the 
Honey  Bee,  darting  from  a  fragrant  wild  grape- 
vine and  flying  close  to  Anne's  face.  "  These  are 
busy  days  for  me,  I  can  tell  you  ;  voices  calling 
from  every  corner  of  the  Flower  Market  at  once  ; 
messages  to  carry  from  flower  to  flower  and  vege- 
tables to  provide  for  the  babies  at  home." 

"  I'm  going  to  the  hemlock  woods  between  the 
swamp  lots  and  the  river,  to  look  for  wild  flowers, 
while  Baldy  loads  up  his  pea  brush.  Are  there 
any  pretty  flowers  or  nice  Beast  Brothers  up 
there  Amoe  ?  I've  never  been  there  quite  at  this 
season,  for  do  you  know,  Amoe,  it  will  be  June 
to-morrow ! " 


258  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"Flowers?  —  yes,  plenty  of  them.  I  must  go 
there  myself  this  morning,  so  I'll  keep  beside 
you  and  chat  as  we  go.  Beast  Brothers  ?  —  yes, 
there  are  some  Fox  puppies,  only  their  mother  is 
too  clever  to  let  you  find  them  ;  and  Whip,  the 
great  black  snake  from  our  pond  marsh,  has  gone 
there  and  set  up  housekeeping.  The  Red-winged 
Blackbirds,  Woodpeckers,  Thrushes,  and  Quail 
were  getting  up  a  petition  yesterday  to  beg  that 
he  might  be  made  to  move  away. 

"  The  difficulty  was  that  they  did  not  know  to 
whom  to  send  the  petition.  The  Ko-ko-ko-hos 
might  have  had  some  influence  with  Whip ;  but 
they  have  moved  away.  Rufus  Lynx  has  had  so 
much  trouble  up  at  the  mountain  that  he  dare  not 
come  down.  Reddy  Fox  has  all  he  can  do  to  feed 
his  children  with  spring  chickens  and  keep  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  farmers,  and  there  doesn't  seem 
to  be  any  one  to  rid  the  poor  birds  of  their  terrible 
neighbour." 

"  Is  Whip  a  very  big  snake,  and  does  he  bite  ? 
I  thought  that  now  the  Bad  One  had  died,  there 
were  no  dangerous  snakes  left." 

"  Big  !  Whip  measures  six  feet  from  tail  tip 
to  nose.  He  doesn't  wear  poison  fangs  ;  he  hugs 
things  to  death." 

**  That  is  the  way  Lac  and  Lactina  did,  but  they 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE  259 

were  useful  snakes  that  ate  field  mice  and  such 
things." 

"  Whip  would  be  useful  in  a  country  where 
there  is  plenty  of  everything,  but  in  a  place  like 
this  he  makes  havoc.  Every  morning  when  I  go 
abroad  I  see  him  gliding  along,  peering  here  and 
there,  first  in  the  low  bushes,  then  going  like 
lightning  up  some  tree,  every  bump  in  his  black 
body  meaning  an  egg  or  a  young  bird.  Yester- 
day I  saw  him  coil  about  a  full-grown  Rabbit,  give 
it  a  hug,  and  then  swallow  the  quivering  thing." 

"  I  wish  we  could  meet  Whip  to-day ;  I'm  sure 
Baldy  could  kill  him,  for  he's  got  a  brush  hook 
and  a  .pitch-fork,"  said  Anne. 

"  Do  you  think  he  would  ?  Then  I'll  go  swiftly 
and  tell  the  Bird  Brothers  to  watch  for  Whip  and 
give  us  news  of  where  he  lies  in  wait.  A  moment 
only  and  I  will  meet  you  at  the  bars  where  one 
road  goes  down  to  the  brush  lots  and  the  other 
skirts  the  woods.  Be  sure  to  wait  for  me  by  the 
white  Dogwood  tree." 


When  they  reached  the  bars  Anne  did  as  Amoe 
told  her,  and  Baldy  went  downhill  to  collect 
his  load,  after  cautioning  her  not  to  stray  away 
too  far. 


260  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  How  many  different  kinds  of  flowers  and  seed 
pods  there  are,"  she  said,  as  she  looked  from  the 
Dogwood  overhead  to  some  rank  growing  little 
plants  at  her  feet.  These  had  straight  little  stems 
with  swelled  joints  from  which  strange  narrow 
green  leaves  stuck  out  like  the  spokes  of  an  um- 
brella ;  the  dew  was  still  glistening  on  them,  mak- 
ing them  look  like  some  beautiful  bit  of  enamel 
work  covered  with  diamonds.  The  Ground  Pine 
made  a  mat  that  reached  as  far  as  she  could  see 
up  the  hill,  and  close  to  her  feet  a  splendid  fern 
was  slowly  unfolding  its  fronds. 

"  I  wonder  how  all  these  things  keep  alive 
that  don't  seem  to  have  any  flowers,"  she  said 
aloud. 

"  There  are  many  plants  in  my  garden  that  have 
the  precious  life  dust,  even  if  they  have  no  showy, 
bright  flower  petals  to  call  attention  to  the  fact, 
and  have  no  need  of  insect  messengers,"  said 
Heart  of  Nature,  speaking  from  a  bed  of  pale 
green  Maidenhair  Ferns  that  trembled  in  the 
breeze  on  the  bank  above  Anne's  head. 

"  These  flowerless  plants  of  my  garden,  instead 
of  the  heart  of  blossoms,  use  tiny  spores  for  their 
seed-lunch  baskets.  The  rusty  spots  on  the  under 
side  of  the  fern  frond  are  precious  seed  dust.  The 
little  forks  that  you  will  see  later  on  the  Ground 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE 


Pine  are  full  of  it,  and  the  conelike 
spike  on  the  top  of  that  Horsetail 
holds  the  vital  dust." 

"  Horsetail  !  where  ?  "  asked  Anne, 
peering  about. 

"  That  slim  plant  that  glitters  with 
dew  and  looks  like  a  young  Pine." 

"  Oh,  how  sharp  it  is  !  "  cried  Anne, 
as  she  picked  one  ;  "  it's  sharper  than 
grass  or  wheat  stems." 

"  Of  course  I'm  sharp,  for  I  suck  up 
hard  rock  dust  from  the  ground  to 
make  me  strong,  just  as  wheat  and  rye 
do,"  said  a  talkative  Horsetail. 

"If  those  grains  did  not  eat 
rock,  their  slender  stems  could 
never  hold  their  heavy  heads  up, 
and  when  you  see  a  weak,  floppy 
field  of  grain  you  may  know  it 
didn't  have  enough  rock  dust  to 
eat  when  it  was  young  and  so  had 
weak  bones.  I've  got  so  much 
sand  in  me  that  people  used  to 
pick  bunches  of  my  family  and  tie 
them  into  sort  of  brooms  to  scour 
tins  with  ;  so  we've  got  the  nick- 
name of  Scouring  Rushes.  I  can 


262  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

tell  you  something  about  us  that  is  queerer  yet ; 
I  heard  it  from  a  bit  of  granite  rock  that  rolled 
downhill  and  stopped  here  awhile  until  some  one 
carted  it  off  to  help  make  a  gate-post.  I  belong 
to  the  same  family  of  plants,  that  used  to  live 
millions  of  years  ago,  that  sucked  all  the  sun- 
shine and  fire  gas  out  of  the  air  and  packed  it 
away  to  turn  into  coal.  My  ancestors  grew  hun- 
dreds of  times  bigger  and  thicker  and  better  than 
we  do  now  (but,  then,  everybody's  ancestors 
always  did  that),  and  we  used,  in  those  days,  to 
associate  with  Ferns  and  Club  Mosses  and  Ground 
Pines,  and  we've  kept  up  the  habit  ever  since. 
So  you  see  we  flowerless  plants  are  very  exclusive, 
keeping  in  a  set  quite  by  ourselves  and  never 
mixing  with  those  bold  plants  in  the  Flower  Mar- 
ket that  are  always  dressing  up  in  gay  colours 
and  gossiping  and  talking  with  the  Bees." 

"I'm  a  rather  interesting  sort  of  plant,  too," 
said  the  flat-leaved  Ground  Pine.  "  Later  on  I 
grow  little  spikes  full  of  magic  yellow  piny  seed 
dust  that,  if  it  touches  fire,  blazes  and  snaps  and 
sparkles  more  beautifully  than  the  fireflies.  It  is 
important,  very  important  dust  too,  for  I've  heard 
it  said  by  Miou,  the  Catbird,  who  is  always  peep- 
ing and  prying  about,  that  House  People  gather 
up  this  yellow  dust  and  use  it  to  pack  pills  in." 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE 


263 


"  Do  you  mean  that  your  seed  dust  is  that  flya- 
way powder  that  comes  in   pill   boxes  ? "   asked 
Anne,  eagerly.    "  Only  the  other  day 
mother  was  burning  up  some  old  boxes 
and  the  dust  flashed  and  snapped  like 
fireworks,  and  we  wondered  what  it 
could  be.     Heigho  !     Everything  in 
Nature's  garden  seems  to  be  good 
for  ever  so  many  things." 

"  I  wish  you  would  pull  up  this 
Hog   Peanut   that   is   climbing       g|ji 
around  me  ;  it's  going  to  squeeze       111 
all  my  lovely  green  leaves  to 
bits  and  choke  me  to  death  be- 
fore the  season  is  out,"  said  a 
great  tuft  of  Ferns  ;  "  it's  very 
hard  for  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Family  of  Ferns  to  be  smoth- 
ered by  a  mean 
little  weed." 
These     vines 
are   very    horrid 
things,"  said 


GROUND   PINE. 


264  w  ABEND,  THE  MAGICIAN 

Anne,  as  she  stooped  to  release  the  Fern  ;  "  there 
were  some  in  mother's  Fern  bed  that  came  with 
the  Ferns  from  the  woods,  and  we  can't  seem  to 
get  them  out." 

The  Hog  Peanut  laughed  to  itself,  but  said  noth- 
ing, while  a  great  long-stemmed  Violet  a  little 
farther  down  by  the  spring  called,  "  I  can  tell  you 
why  you  can't  get  rid  of  those  vines,  —  Heart  of 
Nature  gives  some  of  us  plants  two  kinds  of 
flowers,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  we  yield  plenty 
of  seed  to  keep  up  our  race.  One  sort  of  flower 
grows  and  blossoms  on  the  plant  above  ground, 
as  the  Hog  Peanut  flowers  and  my  own  purple 
blossoms  do,  the  seed  pods  ripen  and  split,  and  the 
seed  is  scattered  abroad,  to  grow  or  be  lost.  The 
other  flower  is  a  blind  thing,  growing  from  the 
stem  under  the  ground.  Dull  and  homely  though 
it  is,  it  has  very  big  seed-lunch  baskets,  and  these 
seeds  lying  close  in  the  moist  earth  grow  almost 
without  knowing  it,  and  the  life  of  the  plant  is 
made  doubly  sure.  I,  too,  bear  these  blind  under- 
ground blossoms  in  late  summer,  and  if  you  come 
and  pull  me  you  will  see  that  I  tell  the  truth." 

"  How  strange,"  said  Anne  to  herself ;  "  but 
I  wonder  why  such  a  mischievous  plant  as  that 
Peanut,  that  no  one,  not  even  the  Ferns,  likes, 
should  have  two  ways  of  making  seed  ?  " 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE  265 

All  the  Hog  Peanuts  on  the  bank  and  through 
the  wood  began  to  titter,  and  one  very  sturdy 
vine,  that  had  wound  around  a  bunch  of  Horse- ^ 
tails    until    they    were    prisoners,    whispered, — 
"Why?     Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 


Buzz  —  thud  !  Amoe,  the  Honey  Bee,  had  re- 
turned, and  bumped  his  head  with  much  force 
against  Anne's  sleeve. 

"  I  hope  you  are  not  hurt ;  you  didn't  see  me, 
did  you  ? "  said  Anne.  "  Have  the  birds  seen 
Whip  to-day,  and  has  he  done  any  mischief  yet  ?  " 

"I'm  not  hurt,"  answered  Amoe,  "and  I  saw 
you  quite  well  at  a  distance,  but  lost  my  reckon- 
ing when  I  came  quite  near.  You  see  we  Bees 
are  very  far-sighted  so  that  we  may  see  our  hives 
and  the  flowers  who  need  us  from  afar,  but  when 
we  are  close  to  a  thing,  then  we  have  to  feel  our 
way  like  blind  men." 

"I've  often  noticed  how  you  feel  of  flowers 
when  you  are  taking  messages  for  them,  but  how 
about  Whip  ?  " 

"  Whip  has  not  been  out  to-day  ;  you  know  it 
was  a  cool  night  and  the  sun  is  not  far  up  yet. 
The  Field  Sparrow,  the  Phoebe,  and  the  Marsh 
Wren  are  on  the  watch  for  him  ;  they  can  slip 


266 


WABENO,    THE  MAGICIAN 


along  quietly  and  unseen  and 
they  will  bring  us  news  as 
soon  as  Whip  leaves  his  hole 
under  the  dead  Willow  in 
the  swamp  lot. 

"Come  up  under  the  Hem- 
locks and  watch  me  while  I 
carry  messages  between  some 
wild,  shy  flowers  there,  the 
stemless  pink  Moccasin  Flowers 
that  keep  alone  and  apart,  perch- 
ing daintily  on  the  bank  as  if 
ready  to  fly  away  if  the  winds 
but  called  them.  They  are 
proud  flowers,  too,  and  belong 
to  the  Royal  Tribe  of  Orchids." 
Anne  began  to  climb  a  tum- 
ble-down stone  fence  that  sepa- 
rated the  lane  road  from  the 
wood  beyond  and  grasped  at 
the  branch  of  a  tall  shrub  to  steady 
herself. 

"  Don't     touch     that  !      don't !  " 
shrieked  Amoe,  buzzing  like  a  whole 
poison/**      hiye  of  Beeg       u  That  is  a  member 

of  the  Poison  Family  ;    it  is  called  Poison 
Sumach,  and  if  you  get  its  juice  on  your  face 


AMOE,   THE  HONEY  BEE  267 

and  hands,  or  wherever  else  it  touches,  you  will 
swell  up  and  grow  red  and  smart  terribly." 

Anne  jumped  down  into  a  mass  of  Ferns  when 
Amoe  called,  thinking  at  first  that  Whip  must 
be  somewhere  near  by,  and  sat  looking  up  at  the 
bush.  It  seemed  to  be  harmless  enough,  and  then 
she  remembered  that  Tommy  was  at  home  with  his 
face  swelled  up  and  red,  and  that  the  Doctor  said 
he  must  have  rubbed  against  some  poisonous  plant. 

"  I  didn't  think  there  was  anything  but  Poison 
Ivy  that  would  hurt  any  one  hereabout,  and  that 
has  three  leaves  in  a  bunch  and  white  berries  that 
hang  down,  and  when  it's  old,  you  see  lots  of 
fuzzy  roots  all  over  the  stems  that  it  climbs  by. 
The  fences  down  at  the  Horse  Farm  are  full  of  it. 
But  how  can  I  tell  this  poison  one  from  the  other 
nice  Sumachs,  Amoe  —  the  ones  that  grow  all 
over  the  mountain,  and  in  autumn  have  such 
pretty  red  berries  and  leaves?" 

"The  Poison  Sumachs  have  flower  bunches  that 
hang  down  like  bunches  of  grapes  and  they  always 
wear  whitish  berries,  like  the  Poison  Ivy.  We 
Bees  have  to  be  very  particular  about  this  also,  for 
if  we  take  home  the  seed  dust  from  poison  flowers, 
we  might  kill  some  of  the  children  of  the  hive. 
Careless  nurses  do  this  sometimes  and  make  great 
trouble." 


268  W  ABEND,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"Nurses!  do  Bees  have  nurses?" 
"  Certainly ;   we  have  workers  in  our  Queen- 
dom ;  but  I  also  am  a  worker  and  must  do  my 
work  first  and  talk  afterward.     Sit  down  here  and 
watch  me." 

Anne  took  her  seat  at  the  foot  of  a  big  Hemlock. 
As  soon  as  her  eyes  became  used  to  the  confusion 
of  light  and  shade,  she  saw  that  she  was  surrounded 
by  troops  of  the  prettiest  plants  imaginable,  a 
nodding  flower  coming  from  every  pair  of  green 
leaves. 

Amoe,  who  had  disappeared  inside  one  of  these 
pink  flowers  through  a  cleft  in  the  pouch,  called, 
"  Pick  this  flower  and  peep  inside  and  see  how 
Heart  of  Nature  wills  that  I  creep  in  by  the  open 
door  to  gather  the  pollen  dust  that  I  need  as  meat 
for  the  children  of  the  hive,  then  I  must  pass 
out  by  a  narrow  window  that  forces  me  to  drop 

some  of  the  precious  pol- 
len dust  to  fill  the  flower's 
seed-lunch  basket." 
Anne  picked  the  flower  care- 
fully, and  opening  the  pouch 
gently  with  her  finger  looked 
as  Amoe  bade.  She  was  too  much 
astonished  by  what  she  saw  to  speak.  But  Heart 
of  Nature,  lingering  in  the  wood  silence,  reading 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY   BEE 


269 


her  thoughts,  said,  "  Here  again  in  this  flower  you 
see  written  the  word  '  Brotherhood ';  is  it  not  bee 
for  flower  and  flower  for  bee,  each  giving  life  to 
the  other  ?  " 

Amoe    crawled    out    again,    some    yellow   dust 
sticking  to  the  hairs  on  his  legs,  and 
rested  on  Anne's  frock. 

"  You  call  that  seed  dust  meat  ? 
I  thought  it  was  honey,"  said  she. 

"  Ah,  no,  honey  is  different ; 
this  pollen  is  stronger  food,  so  we 
call  it  meat.     Every  flower  grows 
it  differently ;  to  you  it  seems  all 
as  dust,  but   to   our  sharp   insect 
eyes  it  has  as  many  shapes  as  the 
fruits    and    vegetables    in    the 
gardens  of  House  People.     To 
the  eyes  of  a  Bee  the  dust  of 
every  flower  has  its  own  form. 
The  Bee  People  need  variety 
in  their  eating  the  same  as 
others." 

"  You  said  something 
about  a  Queendom  a  min- 
ute ago.  What  did  you 
mean  ?  "  asked  Anne,  as  she 
carefully  gathered  some  of 


270  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

the  wonderful  flowers  to  carry  home.  "  Where 
is  your  hive  ?  Are  you  one  of  the  Miller's  Bees  ? 
He  has  a  great  many,  but  they  seem  to  be  always 
cross,  and  there  is  such  a  noise  in  the  hives  it 
seems  as  if  they  were  always  scolding." 

"  I'm  a  plain  wild  Bee,"  said  Amoe,  "  and  though 
my  ancestors,  of  course,  came  from  some  one's 
hive,  we  have  lived  in  the  woods  as  free  people 
for  a  long  time ;  I  do  not  wear  their  foreign- 
striped  dress. 

"My  home  tree  is  a  hollow  Sassafras.  Where 
it  is,  I  will  not  tell,  for  we  do  not  wish  its  lining 
of  rich  honey  to  be  stolen.  House  People  have 
not  found  our  home,  because  the  little  door  by 
which  we  go  in  and  out  is  the  only  entrance  to 
the  Queendom. 

"We  call  our  colony  a  Queendom,  because  a 
Queen  is  always  the  ruler  of  it.  Listen,  Anne: 
never  in  any  Bee  Colony  has  there  ever  been  a 
King!  There  are  male  Bees,  of  course;  but  we 
don't  think  much  of  them ;  they  hang  about  the 
hive,  never  help  us  work,  and  get  in  the  way,  and 
sometimes  in  late  summer,  if  we  are  very  busy 
storing  up  honey  for  winter,  we  grow  vexed  and 
kill  them  off,  —  Drones,  we  call  them, —  because 
they  do  nothing  in  nest  building  or  honey  storing, 
—  they  haven't  even  a  sting  to  their  names." 


AMOE,   THE    HONEY   BEE  271 

"  But  why  is  that  ?  "  asked  Anne.  "  In  the 
Bird  and  Beast  Brotherhoods  the  males  work." 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician.  To  him  alone 
has  Heart  of  Nature  told  all  the  wonders  of  the 
Bee  Sisters.  We  ourselves  only  know  these  things 
as  they  are,  but  not  the  reasons  for  them. 

"  One  thing  is  certain,  in  a  Queendom  the  female 
is  the  important  person.  With  us  there  are  two 
kinds  of  these,  the  Queen  herself  who  rules  the 
hive,  lays  the  eggs,  but  does  no  other  work,  living 
in  the  throne  room  in  the  centre  of  the  hive  and 
not  even  feeding  herself,  and  the  working  Bees. 
These  last  are  divided  into  two  guilds,  —  the  Wax 
Workers  and  the  Nurses. 

"  The  Wax  Workers  have  half  a  dozen  little 
pockets  around  their  waists  to  hold  the  cakes  of 
wax  they  make  until  they  are  ready  to  use  them 
to  build  the  cells  in  which  the  eggs  are  laid  and 
the  honey  stored.  The  Nurses  are  those  who  go 
out,  as  I  do,  to  gather  meat  and  drink  for  the 
helpless  children  of  the  hive,  who  live  each  one  in 
a  little  cell  by  itself  during  the  changes  that  turn 
them  from  a  soft  whitish  egg  to  a  grub,  then  to 
larvae,  and  at  the  end  of  a  couple  of  weeks  to  a 
fully  grown  Bee. 

"  Oh,  how  we  Nurses  have  to  toil  !  We  know 
which  eggs  will  yield  Queens,  Workers,  and 


272  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

Drones.  We  do  not  give  the  Drone  grubs  much  to 
eat  —  perhaps  that  is  why  they  are  so  stupid.  We 
feed  the  Workers  well,  from  the  grub  up  ;  but  it  is 
the  Princess  eggs  that  get  the  attention  and  petting, 
and  yield  the  largest  Bees  in  the  hive.  The  larvae 
of  a  Princess  is  not  fed  with  common  food  at  all, 
but  with  rich  '  royal  jelly,'  which  we  Nurses  pre- 
pare by  swallowing  the  choicest  food  and  making 
it  into  a  sweet  paste,  then  unswallowing  it  to 
feed  the  royal  line." 

"Why,  that  is  the  way  Pigeons  and  Wood 
peckers  do,"  said  Anne  to  herself ;  "  to  think  a 
Bee  should  know  so  much  !  " 

"  That  is  nothing  compared  to  some  things  we 
do,"  said  Amoe.  "  There  can  never  but  one 
Queen  rule  at  once  in  a  hive.  So  if  several  young 
Princesses  are  hatched,  a  guard  of  workers  keep 
them  prisoners.  Often  the  reigning  Queen  will 
go  off,  followed  by  a  throng  of  working  Bees,  to 
make  a  new  colony  in  another  place;  then  one  of 
the  Princesses  is  chosen  for  a  Queen.  Sometimes 
a  hive  will  have  lost  their  Queen,  and  there  will  be 
two  Princesses  of  the  same  age;  then  the  workers 
hold  a  meeting  and  stand  in'  a  ring  and  let  the 
Princesses  fight  together  until  one  is  killed  and 
then  they  obey  the  other  as  their  Queen." 

"  But  how  very  cruel ;  couldn't  they  choose  in 


AMOE,  THE  HOI^EY  BEE  273 

a  kinder  way,  or  let  the  others  be  called  the  Crown 
Princesses  ?  "  asked  Anne. 

"  Impossible !  Heart  of  Nature  knows  that 
when  the  ruler  is  a  female  there  must  be  only 
one  at  once,  so  that  is  the  law  among  the  Bee 
Sisters." 

Amoe  paused  for  a  moment  and  began  gathering 
the  golden  pollen  from  his  hairy  legs  into  little 
balls,  which  is  the  shape  in  which  it  must  be  taken 
to  the  hive. 

"  Others  besides  House  People  try  to  steal  our 
honey,  so  when  we  are  working  in  a  hurry  in 
late  summer  to  fill  the  honeycombs,  and  every 
Worker  tries  to  fill  his  bags  as  quickly  as  possible, 
we  station  sentinels  at  the  hive  door  to  challenge 
every  Bee  that  passes  and  make  sure  that  he  has 
a  right  to  enter.  For  often  lazy  Bees  and  Robber 
Flies,  that  look  exactly  like  the  Bee  Sisters,  will 
take  advantage  of  our  hurry  to  sneak  in  and 
steal  from  our  store.  And  every  one  knows  what 
happens  to  a  Queendom  when  numbing  frost 
arrives  and  the  honeycombs  are  empty.  Ah,  how 
we  love  the  sun  and  how  we  keep  a-buzzing  in 
warm  weather  !  " 

"  Isn't  it  very  warm  and  stuffy  in  a  hive  ?  " 
asked  Anne.  "  I've  seen  the  Miller's  hives  and 
there  are  no  windows,  only  one  mite  of  a  door." 

T 


274 


WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


"No;  on  the  con 
trary,  the  air    is 
very  good;    we 
Bee  People  would  soon  die  in 
for  even  a  little  puff  of  smoke 
so  Heart  of  Nature  has  taught 
keep  the  hive  fresh.     Inside 
way  are  stationed  the  Workers 
have  charge  of  airing  the  hiv 
they  move  their  wings  rapidly 
if  in  flying,  and  this  motion  from  so       *"''+ 
many  Bees  drives  the  good  air  in  and        *i 
around  the  hive  and  the  foul  air  out. 
The  hotter  the  day  the  more  need  of  air, 
and  the  buzzing  that  you  hear  within 
the   hive   is     .^    the  noise  these 


Bee  ventilators  make  at 
work." 

Anne  sat  still  in  speechless 
amazement,    and    just    then 
Gitche-ah-mo,     the      Bumble 
Bee,  flew  overhead. 
"  Is  the  big  Bumble  Bee  one 
of  your  Queens  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed;  they  belong  to  a 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE  275 

different  branch  of  the  family ;  for  besides  we 
Honey  Bees  the  Bee  Brothers  number  among 
them  the  Bumble  Bees,  that  make  homes  in  old 
nests  ;  black  Stone  Mason  Bees,  that  live  among 
stone  heaps  ;  and  Carpenters  that  bore  out  tun- 
nels for  their  homes  in  old  wood." 

"  Say,  Zeay  !  "  called  Miou,  the  Catbird,  close  in 
Anne's  ear,  "  Whip  is  out  and  looking  in  all  the 
bushes  along  the  edge  of  the  brush  meadow,  and 
Mrs.  Robin  Thrush  has  this  morning  hatched  four 
fine  youngsters  in  one  of  the  old  apple  trees,  and 
she  always  makes  such  a  fuss  that  Whip  is  sure  to 
find  her.  There  is  a  man  down  in  the  brush  lot 
with  a  fine  axe,  if  only  we  could  speak  his  lan- 
guage and  tell  him  about  Whip." 

"  Why,  that  man  is  Baldy,"  said  Anne  ;  "  I'll 
run  and  call  him  as  quickly  as  I  can,  only  you 
must  tell  me  which  way  to  go  so  that  Whip  won't 
see  me,  for  I'm  sure  I  don't  care  to  meet  him." 

"  Follow  me,  then,"  said  Amoe  ;  "  a  Bee  always 
flies  straight  and  sure,  and  makes  a  '  bee  line,' 
you  know." 

Anne  scrambled  downhill  as  fast  as  she  could, 
ran  along  the  lane,  crept  through  the  bars,  keep- 
ing among  the  bushes  until  she  came  close  to 
Baldy,  who  had  finished  loading  his  brush. 

"  Hurry  !  "    cried   Miou,   keeping   close   beside 


276 


,  THE  MAGICIAN 


her,   "  the    Phcebe  told  me,  in  darting  by,  that 
Whip  is  wound  round  the  very  limb  the  nest  is 
on  and  is  gazing  at  Robin  Thrush  with  the  dread- 
ful   cold,  narrow-eyed  stare  that  means 
death." 

"Baldy,"  gasped  Anne,   "there 
is  a  monstrous  black  Snake  in  that 
''  Apple  tree  yonder  that  is  going  to 
eat  a  whole  Robin 
family  !  " 

"  Your  eyes 
must  be  better 
than     mine," 
said      Baldy, 
looking  to  ward 
the  tree,  but  at 
the  same  time 
seizing  his 
brush  hook,  for 
he  had  come  to 
realize     that 
Anne  could   see 
many  things  that 

others  ^  ^Hft^VJ^K^''  fl  could  not- 

Whip  .^^^^Bipp-'^i    was  so  busy  twittering 
his  tongue /^Illll  _  at    the    birds    as    he 


gloated  over 


the    meal   within    his 


AMOE,    THE   HONEY   BEE  277 

reach  that  he  did  not  hear  the  footsteps.  For 
one  anxious  moment  Anne  looked  at  the  nest, 
the  parent  birds  with  helpless,  drooping  wings, 
and  the  glistening  black  coil  with  head  well 
raised.  She  heard  the  useless  cries  of  sympa- 
thy from  all  the  birds  gathered  from  far  and 
near,  then  the  brush  hook  said  "  swish,"  the  coil 
writhed  and  dropped,  another  "  swish  "  and  Whip 
was  no  longer  a  terror  to  Birdland,  but  a  be- 
headed dead  snake  to  be  placed  on  the  wagon  and 
carried  home  as  a  trophy,  though  it  must  be  said 
that  at  least  four  of  his  six  feet  of  length  pro- 
tested against  the  whole  proceeding  by  wrig- 
gling vigorously  all  the  way. 

"  We  must  give  the  Woodpeckers  an  order  to 
carve  this  House  Child  a  vote  of  thanks  on  the 
very  best  birch  bark,"  said  Robin  Thrush,  when 
he  had  recovered  his  wits. 

"I  think  it  will  be  better  if  we  all  sing  our 
thanks  outside  her  window,"  said  the  Song-Spar- 
row ;  "  I'm  going  to  fly  before  her  and  sing  from 
every  bush  on  the  road." 

As  they  reached  the  highway  Amoe,  who  had 
kept  close  beside  Anne  all  the  way,  whispered, 
"  The  Iris  by  the  brook  are  calling,  and  I  must  fly 
home  and  empty  my  meat  basket  before  I  can  go 
to  them  ;  but  we  shall  often  meet  in  the  Flower 


278  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

Market,  and  when  anything  there  puzzles  you,  pick 
a  blossom  newly  come  into  bloom  that  has  re- 
ceived no  insect  messenger  ;  breathe  on  it  gently 
and  say, '  Where  is  Amoe,  the  Honey  Bee  ?  '  and  I 
will  come  to  you." 


Baldy  stopped  the  horses  when  he  reached  the 
mill,  for  he  had  to  give  the  Miller  a  message 
about  some  feed,  so  that  Anne  had  a  chance  to 
slip  into  the  garden  where  the  hives  stood.  The 
sun  shone  on  them  brightly  and  the  humming  in- 
side was  very  loud.  Suddenly  a  big  Bee  darted 
out  and  off  and  in  a  moment  a  cloud  of  other  Bees 
followed.  Then  the  Miller's  wife  rushed  out  and 
called  her  son  and  they  seized  a  box  and  both  ran 
after  the  swarm,  beating  on  tin  pans  to  try  to 
stop  their  flight. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  called  Baldy  and  the 
Miller  together.  They  heard  the  noise  but  could 
not  see  the  cause. 

"  I  was  listening  to  the  Working  Bees  fanning 
fresh  air  into  the  hive,  when  the  Queen,  I  think 
it  must  have  been,  flew  away  and  most  of  the 
others  went  after  her  to  make  a  new  Queendom," 
said  Anne  to  the  Miller.  "But  your  wife  need 
not  be  so  worried  if  she  can't  catch  them,  because 


AMOE,   THE   HONEY  BEE 


279 


the  Nurses  will  feed  some  more  Princess  eggs  with 
royal  jam,  and  they  will  hatch  out ;  then  there  will 
be  a  fight  to  see  which  one  will  be  Queen,  and 
everything  will  come  out  right,  you  know." 


XII 
Jl?e  l/illage  ii?  tfye 


BI  found  this  sailing  on  the  big  pond 
behind  the  mill,  and  it  is  the  very 
firstest,"  said  Tommy,  running  in  one  morning 
and  holding  up  a  beautiful  white  Water  Lily  for 
Anne  to  smell. 

"  How  can  it  sail,  and  why  didn't  it  fall  over 
the  mill-dam  and  be  drowned,  same  as  Baldy  said 
280 


THE   VILLAGE   IN   THE   POND  281 

I  would  if  I  went  near  the  pond  ? "  he  asked, 
swinging  the  flower  by  its  long  rubber-like  stem 
as  he  capered  about  his  sister. 

"  The  very  first  Water  Lily  !  Oh,  please  let  me 
have  it,  Tommy  !  The  day  that  Obi  stuck  the 
hook  in  his  finger  when  he  was  fishing  for  Eels, 
the  Water  Spirits  promised  to  show  me  the  Vil- 
lage in  the  Pond,  if  I  went  there  the  first  day  the 
first  Water  Lily  bloomed.  " 

"  I'm  going  to  ask  mother  to  let  me  go  wiv  you ; 
please  wait  for  me,"  shouted  Tommy,  dashing  off ; 
but  his  mother  had  gone  out  in  the  garden  and  it 
took  him  a  long  time  to  find  her. 

Meanwhile  Anne,  who  was  so  eager  about  the 
Lily  that  she  did  not  know  that  she  had  told  her 
secret  aloud  or  that  Tommy  had  asked  her  to  wait, 
started  down  the  road  to  the  river,  putting  on  her 
hat  as  she  went. 

"  This  is  the  first  Lily,  but  how  can  I  be  sure 
that  it  wasn't  open  yesterday  ? "  she  said  anx- 
iously. "  Growing  in  the  water  keeps  them  fresh 
until  they  are  awfully  old.  I  had  a  dish  full  of 
them  once  last  summer,  and  they  opened  every 
day  for  nearly  a  week." 

"  Look  inside  the  flower,"  said  Amoe,  the  Honey 
Bee,  buzzing  close  to  her  ear. 

"  Do  you  see  the  little  yellow  claws  powdered 


282  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

with  life  dust,  that  stand  in  a  ring  and  guard 
the  entrance  to  the  seed-lunch  baskets  ?  When 
these  little  claws  stand  upright,  then  the  flower 
is  newly  opened;  but  when  the  Lily  has  sent  all  its 
messages  abroad  and  its  seed-lunch  baskets  are 
full,  then  these  claws  curve  in,  their  colour  fades, 
and  they  close  over  the  flower's  heart  tighter  and 
tighter  each  day  of  its  life,  until  the  morning 
when  it  no  longer  opens  but  sinks  beneath  the 
water  to  ripen  the  seeds  and  plant  them  securely 
in  the  mud." 

"  These  claws  seem  wide  open,"  cried  Anne, 
delightedly  ;  "please  look,  Amoe." 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  freshly  blown  Lily,  and  no  Bee  has 
ever  heard  it  whisper  a  message,  and  its  lunch 
baskets  are  quite  empty.  I'll  meet  you  farther 
down  the  lane  ;  I  have  some  business  over  yonder 
in  that  field." 

Anne  soon  reached  the  mill-pond  and  began 
peeping  about  the  edge,  looking  for  a  place  where 
she  could  see  into  the  water,  for  the  margin  was 
muddy  and  Alders  hid  the  water. 

"  Want  to  see  the  fish  jump  ?  They  are  lively 
this  morning,"  called  the  Miller,  cheerfully.  He 
had  been  taking  some  old  wood  out  of  the  flume 
and  was  paddling  toward  Anne  in  an  old  flat- 
bottomed  boat. 


THE   VILLAGE   IN   THE   POND  283 

"I'm  going  to  tie  lip  right  here  to  this  wilier, 
and  then  you  can  set  in  the  boat  fust  rate,  and  not 
float  away  nor  damp  yer  feet." 

Truly,  this  was  luck.  Anne  scrambled  into  the 
boat,  and  the  Miller  swung  it  out  of  the  current  and 
into  the  shade  where,  with  her  chin  resting  on  the 
edge  of  the  boat,  she  could  look  deep  into  the 
water.  "  It's  very  still,"  she  whispered  to  herself, 
"  and  I  don't  see  any  village  or  people  or  anything 
except  grass  growing  down  on  the  bottom." 

"  Look  again,"  said  a  chorus  of  rippling  voices. 
"  If  the  Water  Spirits  make  a  promise,  they  keep 
it.  Look  again,  House  Child.  Have  you  put 
the  Magic  Spectacles  in  your  pocket  ?  " 

Anne  brushed  away  a  cobweb  that  had  blown 
across  her  face  and  did  as  she  was  told.  Instantly 
everything  seemed  to  be  in  a  bustle  above  and  be- 
neath the  water.  As  she  looked  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pond  that  had  always  seemed  like  a  flat  floor, 
she  saw  that  it  was  like  any  other  bit  of  country. 
It  had  hills  and  valleys,  grassy  meadows,  forests 
of  tall  plants,  rocky  peaks  and  muddy  flats,  all 
threaded  by  curious  little  paths  along  which  the 
strangest  shapes  were  continually  passing.  Some 
of  the  plants  did  not  reach  the  top  of  the  water, 
some  had  their  roots  in  one  of  the  valleys  and  their 
leaves  floating  on  the  water,  while  with  some  both 


284  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

roots  and  leaves  floated,  held  up  by  tiny  bladders 
arranged  like  so  many  little  life  preservers.  The 
air  above  the  water  was  humming  with  life,  and 
the  water  itself  seemed  fairly  alive  with  tiny  crea- 
tures. 

"Now  I  know  why  father  says,  'Never  drink 
pond  water,  no  matter  how  thirsty  you  are,' "  said 
Anne,  convincingly.  "  It  would  simply  be  drink- 
ing bugs,  even  if  you  didn't  feel  them  going  down. 
I  see  a  place  for  a  village  there  under  the  water, 
and  things  to  live  in  it,  but  where  is  the  village 
itself,  I  wonder  ?  I  don't  see  any  nests  or  holes 
or  burrows." 

The  Water  Spirits  laughed  mockingly,  and  be- 
gan to  talk  all  at  once  in  confusion. 

"  The  dwellers  in  the  Village  in  the  Pond  do 
not  live  in  common  holes  and  nests  ;  most  of  them 
carry  their  houses  about  with  them,"  said  one. 

"  How  about  Wazhusk,  the  Muskrat  ?  "  called 
another.  "  Has  he  not  a  winter  lodge  and  a  sum- 
mer burrow  ?  " 

"  And  the  fishes  ?  "  said  a  third.  "  Does  not 
the  thorn-backed  one  build  a  nest  as  fine  as  any 
bird's?" 

"  Dear  me,  I  don't  know,"  cried  Anne  in  a  maze; 
"please  talk  a  little  slower  or  tell  me  over  again." 
But  the  Water  Spirits  talked  so  fast  and  rushed 


THE  VILLAGE  IN  THE  POND       285 

about  so  that  Anne  knew  that  she  must  look  for 
herself  or  ask  some  one  who  could  keep  still. 

Presently  something  flew  close  to  Anne's  face, 
and  she  put  up  her  hand  in  fright,  for  it  was  one 
of  the  great  insects  that  are  called  Devil's  Darning 
Needles,  and  are  said  to  sew  up  your  ears  and  put 
out  your  eyes  if  you  make  them  angry. 

"  Pardon  me,  I  was  only  taking  a  Mosquito  off 
your  nose,"  it  squeaked,  "and  there  is  another  on 
your  ear  ;  allow  me.  Let  me  introduce  myself, 
as  you  are  afraid  of  me,  evidently  mistaking  me 
for  some  one  else — perhaps  a  big  stinging  Wasp. 
I  am  Sir  David  Dragon  Fly,  the  swiftest  thing  on 
wings  and  the  bravest  and  most  renowned  Mos- 
quito killer. 

"  A  million  Mosquitoes  took  wing  this  morning, 
and  Heart  of  Nature  sends  us  Dragons  after  them 
the  minute  they  leave  the  water.  Where  do  Mos- 
quitoes come  from  ?  The  Village  in  the  Pond,  to 
be  sure.  If  there  were  no  ponds  and  sluggish 
waterways,  there  would  be  no  Mosquitoes." 

"  Do  Mosquitoes  have  houses  in  this  Village  ?  " 
asked  Anne. 

"  No  houses  ;  they  wander  about  like  tramps. 
In  fact,  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Village 
carry  their  houses  with  them  and  camp  where 
they  choose,  as  the  Water  Spirits  have  told  you ; 


286 


WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 


we  even  do  that  in  our  family.  Madam 
Mosquito  lays  her  eggs  on  the  roof  of 
the  water,  then  —  " 

"Roof  of  the  water!  What  can  you 
mean?"  exclaimed  Anne.  "A  roof  is 
a  stiff  thing.  Water  all  tumbles  about 
loose  ;  I'm  sure  it  hasn't  any  roof  !  " 

-.-.rsa^  "  Tm  very  sure  it  has. 

Look     down     there     at 
Johnny     Longlegs,    the 
Water  Strider ;  what  is 
he  walking  on  ?    And  at 
that  heedless,  headlong  family,  the 
Whirligig    Water   Beetles ;    what 
are  they  walking  on  but  the  roof 
of  the  water  ?  " 

"  They  are  floating,"  said  Anne, 
hastily.  Then  as  she  stooped  and 
looked  closely  at  the  long  legs  of 
the  Strider  and  the  turtle-like 
backs  of  the  little  Whirligig  Bee- 
tles, she  gave  an  exclamation  of 
surprise. 

"They  are  really  walking,"  she 
cried,  "and  I  can  see  the  roof  bend. 
It  is  a  very  weak  roof,  though ; 
I  wonder  why  that  is  ?  " 


THE   VILLAGE   IN   THE   POND  287 

"Because  we  Water  Spirits  seldom  stay  still 
long  enough  for  the  roof  to  grow  thick,"  answered 
the  Xee-ba-naw-baigs.  "  One  of  our  laws  also  is 
'keep  moving.'  When  we  do  rest  long  in  one 
spot,  this  roof  grows  heavier,  and  House  People 
call  it  scum  and  say  evil  things  about  it." 

"  What  makes  the  roof,  anyway  ?  "  asked  Anne. 

"  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  laughed  the 
Water  Spirits,  romping  over  the  mill-dam,  then 
calling  and  singing  from  the  stream  above  the 
pond  all  in  the  same  minute. 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Anne  to  the  Dragon  Fly, 
who  was  darting  impatiently  to  and  fro,  "you 
were  telling  me  how  Madam  Mosquito  lays  her 
eggs,  and  I've  been  very  rude  in  interrupting  you  ; 
but  I  had  to  know  the  why  about  the  roof  of  the 
water,  and  though  I've  seen  it,  I'm  not  sure  of  the 
why." 

"As  I  was  saying,  Madam  Mosquito  lays  her 
eggs  on  top  of  the  water,  and  in  all  the  changes 
the  young  Mosquitoes  go  through,  from  the  time 
they  leave  the  eggs  until  they  are  fully  grown, 
they  live  squirming  about  on  and  under  the  roof 
of  the  water.  Wrigglers,  these  half-made  Mos- 
quitoes are  called,  and  if  you'll  look  in  a  water 
barrel  that  has  stood  open  to  the  sun  you  will 
very  likely  see  some  any  day.  The  Mosquito's 


288  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

skin  serves  it  for  a  house  and  it  changes  this  many 
times,  for  as  it  grows  the  old  skin  is  crowded,  and 
it  is  shed  for  another.  By  and  by,  when  wings, 
sting,  and  everything  else  about  the  young  Mos- 
quito is  ready,  how  do  you  suppose  it  changes 
from  a  water  wriggler  to  an  air  flyer  ?  " 

"  Unfolds  its  wings  and  flies  out  of  the  water 
into  the  air." 

"  What !  with  sopping  wet  wings  ?  "  asked  the 
Dragon  Fly,  scornfully.  "  You  must  know  that 
one  of  the  first  '  Rules  for  Young  Insects '  is,  — 

" '  Youi'  wings  must  be  dry, 
Before  you  can  fly.' 

Wet  wings  are  heavy,  and  we  should  fall  through 
the  air  like  stones.  The  Mosquito  knows  a  thing 
or  two.  He  crawls  carefully  out  of  .his  last  skin 
house,  by  way  of  a  crack  in  the  roof,  and  then 
uses  it  for  a  float  to  rest  upon  until  his  fringe- 
edged  wings  dry  and  he  becomes  used  to  his  new 
shape.  Then  he  stretches  his  wings  and  begins 
his  buzzy  life. 

"  Now  comes  my  work!  To  and  fro  over  ponds 
and  marshes  I  speed,  snapping  up  these  Mosquitoes 
as  they  take  their  first  flight,  or,  if  I  miss  them 
then,  seizing  them  when  they  again  approach  the 
water  to  lay  their  eggs." 


THE   VILLAGE   IN  THE  POND  289 

"  Please,  Sir  David  Dragon  Fly,  why  do  Mos- 
quitoes bite  ?  They  always  seem  to  bite,  while 
Spiders  and  Flies  and  other  things  only  bite 
sometimes." 

"  What  you  call  biting  is  merely  helping  them- 
selves to  food.  They  stick  their  sting  into  you 
to  suck  your  blood.  They  don't  know  that  it 
hurts  you.  Besides,  Madam  Mosquito  is  the  only 
one  who  sucks  blood  or  can  sing  the  wing  song. 
Master  Mosquito  is  a  poor  harmless  sort  of  thing ; 
he  dare  not  say  a  single  word  and  has  to  be  con- 
tent with  plant  juice  lemonade,  for  Heart  of 
Nature  does  not  allow  him  to  eat  meat  soup  like 
his  wife." 

"I  wonder  why  it  is  that  among  insects  and 
such  things  the  man  seems  to  be  of  so  little  ac- 
count," said  Anne,  looking  across  the  water  with 
a  puzzled  expression.  "The  Bees  live  in  a  Queen- 
dom,  and  the  males  have  no  stings  and  are  hustled 
out  of  the  way  very  soon,  and  it's  pretty  much  the 
same  in  Antville,  and  with  the  Mosquitoes  it's 
even  worse." 

"  Why  ?  I  dare  not  tell,"  said  the  Dragon  Fly. 
"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 

At  that  moment  a  Kingfisher,  that  had  been  sit- 
ting motionless  for  some  time  on  a  dead  Maple 
limb  above  the  boat,  dived  deep  into  the  pond  and 


290  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

returned  with  a  luckless  Perch,  which  he  swallowed, 
after  making  a  great  many  faces.  As  soon  as  the 
circles  that  his  plunge  had  made  rippled  away, 
Anne  saw  that  there  was  quite  a  commotion  among 
the  Water  People.  Minnows  darted  to  and  fro, 
trying  to  hide  under  stones;  a  little  Mud  Turtle 
slid  off  a  log  and  bumped  into  a  Snapping  Turtle 
going  in  an  opposite  direction;  while  some  larger 
fish  hastened  anxiously  under  an  overhanging  root, 
and  the  Striderleg  and  Whirligig  Beetle  families 
scattered  suddenly  and  then  began  to  whirl  faster 
than  ever  in  a  different  place. 

"What  a  fuss  about  nothing,"  laughed  Anne. 

"  Nothing  !  do  you  call  a  water-quake  noth- 
ing ?  "  said  the  little  Turtle  as  he  regained  his 
place  on  the  log,  feeling  very  cross  because  he  had 
a  shell-ache  from  the  collision. 

"  A  water-quake  !  I  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing,"  said  Anne,  still  laughing. 

"  Did  you  never  hear  of  an  earth-quake  ?  " 

"Certainly;  it's  when  something  inside  the 
earth  blows  up  and  shakes  it,  and  sometimes  it 
spoils  houses  and  kills  people." 

"Very  well,  House  Child,  a  water-quake  is 
when  something  outside  the  water  falls  in  and 
shakes  it,  and  sometimes  it  spoils  houses  and  kills 
people  in  the  Village  in  the  Pond,"  he  mimicked. 


THE   VILLAGE   IN  THE   POND  291 

Anne  looked  at  the  Turtle  to  see  if  he  was  mak- 
ing fun  of  her,  but  he  was  so  solemn  that  she 
could  not  tell.  She  turned  to  find  the  Dragon 
Fly,  but  could  not  tell  it  from  a  dozen  others  that 
were  darting  about  with  wings  spread  wide  like  a 
Hawk  when  it  seems  to  float  on  the  air. 

Presently,  however,  Sir  David  returned  and  lit 
on  the  rushes  close  to  the  boat. 

"  Where  is  your  house  ?  "  asked  Anne.  "  Do  you, 
too,  carry  it  with  you  ?  " 

"  Grown-up  Dragon  Flies  have  no  houses,  —  we 
are  Knights-errant ;  our  young  lie  close  on  the 
bottom  of  the  pond,  each  one  in  a  little  skin  tent. 
Do  you  see  those  of  us  yonder,  who,  instead  of 
catching  Mosquitoes,  swoop  low  over  the  water  as 
if  they  would  dive,  like  the  Kingfisher  ?  Those 
are  the  females,  and  as  they  touch  the  water  they 
quickly  lay  their  eggs  under  the  roof,  where  they 
soon  sink  to  the  bottom,  and,  after  going  through 
as  many  masquerades  as  a  Mosquito,  the  young 
Dragon  splits  the  back  of  its  last  baby  jacket  and 
crawls  up  a  plant  stem  into  the  air,  where  it  dries 
its  wings  and  is  off,  Mosquito  hunting." 

"  If  you  Dragon  Flies  eat  other  insects,  then  you 
must  be  cannibals,"  said  Arine,  after  thinking  a 
moment. 

"Hush!  don't  say  that  word  here,"  warned  Sir 


292 


WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 


David  ;  "  almost  everybody  in  the  Village  in  the 
Pond  is  a  cannibal ;  of  course  some  families  live 
on  plant  juice  lemonade,  like  Mosquito  men,  but 
the  rest!  —  Look  quickly  now;  see  how  that  Perch 
has  just  gobbled  up  a  Minnow,  and  round  the  cor- 
ner of  the  root  that  narrowr,  sly  Pickerel  is  wait- 
ing to  grab  the  Perch." 

"  Oh  dear  rne,  he  has  caught  it  too,  and  bitten 
it  in  two !  "  cried  Anne,  changing  her  position  so 
suddenly,  in  order  to  see  better,  that  the  boat 
slapped  the  water  vigorously,  making  ripples  and 
spoiling  the  view  altogether. 

"  Another  water-quake,"  scolded  the  Turtle,  but 
when  Anne  looked  again  both  Pickerel  and  Perch 
had  disappeared  and 
the  other  fish  were 
gossiping  under  .  -_-_^:  ~&B&^'- 
the  root  as  ..--^^^^^^^^^^^^^^i-^,  « 
before.  .'--^E 


THE    VILLAGE   IN   THE   POND  293 

"  Do  you  know  what  has  become  of  Dahinda, 
the  big  Bull  Frog,  that  used  to  live  here  ?  I 
mean  the  one  who  used  to  beat  the  bass  drum. 
I  haven't  heard  him  this  summer." 

The  Dragon  Fly  had  gone,  but  the  Turtle  an- 
swered, "  Dahinda  is  dead  ;  he  died  yesterday." 

"  Was  he  old,  or  did  a  boy  or  a  Kingfisher 
catch  him  ?  " 

"  Neither  ;  he  foolishly  went  into  a  swallowing 
match  with  a  Frog  only  one  size  smaller  than  him- 
self, and  choked  to  death." 

"  How  was  that,  and  what  did  he  swallow  ?  " 

"Swallow?  Why,  he  tried  to  swallow  the 
other  Frog,  to  be  sure.  When  Dahinda  stretched 
his  throat  to  its  widest  and  found  that  the  other 
Frog  was  too  much  for  him,  he.  was  too  proud  to 
let  go.  He  wouldn't  give  the  smaller  Frog  the 
satisfaction  of  swaggering  about  the  pond  and 
saying,  '  Look  at  me  !  I'm  the  big  Frog  that 
Dahinda  had  to  uns wallow  ! '  So  Dahinda  held 
on  and  they  are  both  dead.  Where  are  they? 
Over  in  the  backwater  pool  where  Dahinda  lived; 
a  couple  of  big  mud  Eels  are  going  up  there  now 
to  dine  off  them,  so  you  see  after  all  they  won't 
be  wasted." 

"  Nothing  goes  to  waste  in  my  garden,"  whis- 
pered Heart  of  Nature's  voice,  coming  from  a  soft 


294  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

breeze  that  rippled  the  pond.  Everything  lives 
for  some  other  thing,  and  all  for  the  Plan." 

"  Yes,  dear  Heart  of  Nature ;  still  if  Dragon 
Flies  aren't  good  for  anything  but  to  kill  Mos- 
quitoes, and  Mosquitoes  only  good  to  feed  Dragon 
Flies,  why  couldn't  the  Plan  do  without  either  ?  " 

But  Heart  of  Nature  had  sped  past  without  an- 
swering, and  a  small  green  Frog  under  the  boat's 
stern  croaked,  "  Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  and 
Anne  turned  to  the  Turtle  again,  who  looked  as  if 
it  had  more  to  say. 

"  Snakes  choke  themselves  the  same  way,  very 
often,"  it  continued  ;  "  only  the  other  day,  Flat, 
one  of  my  last  year's  children,  came  back  from  a 
walk  through  the  woods,  his  eyes  popping  out  of 
his  head  with  fright.  *  Oh,  ma,'  he  cried,  '  I've 
seen  a  Snake  running  away,  and  it  had  two  tails 
and  no  head ! ' 

"  '  Which  way  did  it  run  ?  '  I  asked.  '  Both 
ways,'  he  said,  without  stopping  to  think. 
'Humph!'  said  I,  'you're  spinning  fibs,  I  know; 
ten  to  one  it  was  two  Snakes  trying  to  swallow 
each  other'  —  and  so  it  was.  House  Child,  it  is  a 
safe  thing  to  suspect  people  who  tell  you  that  they've 
seen  a  Snake  with  two  tails  and  no  head  !  "  and  the 
Turtle  took  a  dive  to  refresh  her  wisdom. 

Meanwhile  the  fish  under  the  root  were  having 


THE   VILLAGE   IN  THE   POND  295 

a  squabble.  A  handsome  White  Perch  was  scold- 
ing some  little  Minnows,  who  were  gaping  about 
and  listening  to  what  their  big  brothers  were  say- 
ing. This  Perch  was  a  very  handsome  fish  and 
evidently  knew  it,  for  he  turned  his  silvery  sides 
until  they  caught  almost  all  the  rainbow  colours 
from  the  water.  Near  him  was  a  Sunfish  dressed 
in  dark  green  and  blue,  with  a  yellow  vest,  while 
between  them,  and  larger  than  either,  was  a  Sucker 
with  a  gray  coat,  pink  waistcoat,  and  a  pouting, 
foolish  looking  mouth. 

"  You  said  it,  I  know  you  did,"  mumbled  the 
Sucker,  looking  at  the  Perch  with  flashing  eyes, 
the  greatest  sign  of  anger  he  could  give.  "  You 
called  me  a  toothless,  mud-living,  vegetable  sucker 
—  the  Minnows  heard  you  and  told  the  Water  Rat, 
and  the  Water  Rat  told  Wazhusk,  the  Muskrat, 
and  he  told  me  when  he  was  mussel  hunting  and  I 
was  going  up  the  river  to  lay  my  eggs  last  month. 
There  now,  what  have  you  got  to  say  about  it  ?  " 

"That  it's  all  true,"  said  the  White  Perch, 
turning  his  back  so  suddenly  that  the  Sucker 
gave  a  gasp  and  sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  pond 
in  sheer  astonishment. 

"  Strange  what  gossips  these  stay-at-home  fish 
are,"  said  the  White  Perch,  patronizingly  to  the 
Sunfish.  "  Now  we  travellers  who  go  down  to 


296  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

the  sea  to  winter,  and  run  up  stream  in  spring, 
have  too  much  to  think  of  to  talk  about  our 
neighbours." 

"  Wait  until  you  have  spent  a  winter  or  two  in 
this  pond,  and  you'll  be  glad  to  talk  about  any- 
thing," said  the  Sunfish.  "  Why,  I've  known  the 
time  when  if  a  bit  of  watergrass  put  its  arm 
around  a  straw  that  floated  along,  while  they 
had  a  chat,  my,  what  gossip  there  was  as  to 
whether  the  grass  was  bold  or  the  straw  spoke 
first ;  it  was  simply  awful !  " 

"  But  I'm  not  going  to  stay  here  in  winter  ; 
I'm  going  back  to  the  sea." 

"  Oh  no,  you  are  not  ;  the  water  in  this  pond 
is  low  in  the  fall  and  you  can't  get  down  over  the 
dam ;  you'll  have  to  stay  here  and  take  little 
runs  up  stream,  the  same  as  I  do.  Of  course  you 
could  go  down  in  the  spring  with  the  Eels,  if  it 
wasn't  against  Perch  law.  You  will  be  comfort- 
able and  have  plenty  of  food,  but  you'll  soon 
gossip  and  mind  your  neighbour's  business  like  the 
rest  of  us,  mark  my  words  !  Now  I  can  stay  at 
home  and  be  contented.  We  Sunfish  have  our 
grounds  allotted  us  in  this  Pond  Village  and  live 
our  lives  out  in  the  same  spots,  and  we  run  very 
little  risk  if  we  watch  out  well  for  Pickerel,  for 
there  is  plenty  of  food  and  not  much  fishing." 


THE   VILLAGE   IN  THE   POND  297 

"  Get  away,  you  Minnow,  or  I'll  eat  you  !  "  called 
the  White  Perch  to  a  little  fish  less  than  four 
inches  long,  that  was  trying  to  attract  its  attention. 
The  Perch,  by  the  way,  was  feeling  very  cross 
because  it  had  just  learned  that  it  must  probably 
stay  in  a  pond. 

"  I'd  like  to  see  you  try  !  I'm  no  Minnow,  but  a 
Stickleback — one  of  the  cleverest  fishes  and  best 
housekeepers  in  this  village.  Look  at  the  three 
spikes  on  my  back  and  another  underneath  to 
make  sure,  and  have  pity  on  your  throat.  Even 
Dahinda,  in  his  best  days,  never  caught  but  one 
of  us." 

"  Housekeeping !  Then  you  must  have  a 
house,"  interrupted  Anne  ;  "  most  fish  seem  to 
live  anywhere  and  do  not  even  have  a  nest  to 
hold  their  eggs." 

"  Let  us  speak  low  so  the  others  will  not  hear 
us,  and  then  look,"  said  the  Stickleback.  "  This 
is  my  nest." 

Close  to  the  pond's  shallow  edge,  under  the  bank, 
was  a  little  muddy  ball,  shaped  like  an  Oven- 
bird's  nest,  but  it  only  looked  about  the  size  of  a 
Humming-bird's  ;  it  was  made  of  bits  of  hay  all 
woven  together  with  fine  threads. 

"  How  cute!  "  whispered  Anne  ;  "but  how  did 
you  get  the  cobwebs  under  water  ?  Did  Water 


298  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

Spiders  spin  them,  and  does  your  mate  sit  on  the 
eggs  like  a  bird  ?  I  should  think  it  would  be  a 
very  wet  slippery  thing  for  a  fish  to  do." 

"  No,  my  mate  and  I  only  watch  the  eggs  and 
see  that  no  one  touches  them,  and  we  don't  allow 
our  children  to  leave  the  nest  until  they  can  care 
for  themselves.  As  to  the  web,  we  spin  it  our- 
selves. You  see,  I  was  not  boasting  when  I  said 
we  were  the  cleverest  fishes  in  the  Village." 

"  But  how  do  you  spin  the  web  ?  "  persisted  Anne. 

"Ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician,"  cried  the 
Water  Spirits.  "  The  first  thing  we  know,  if  we 
answer  your  questions,  you  will  want  to  find  all 
the  water  paths  and  even  our  passwords,  and  we 
shall  have  you  splashing  about  making  water- 
quakes  and  trying  to  live  in  our  Village,  and  then 
if  you  drowned  it  would  give  the  pond  a  bad 
name.  I  think  you'd  better  go  home ;  you  flap 
that  boat  about  so  you'll  sink  all  the  spawn  and 
frighten  the  wits  out  of  all  the  young  fry  in  the 
pond." 

"  Fry  !  and  spawn ;  what  are  they  ?  " 

"  Fry  is  the  name  for  baby  fish  in  a  flock,  and 
spawn  is  the  name  for  fish  eggs  in  a  bunch." 

"  Oh,  but  dear  Water  Spirits,  I  want  to  know 
the  names  of  all  the  plants  and  trees  and  people 
in  your  Village." 


THE   VILLAGE    IN  THE   POND  299 

"  Then  you  will  have  to  consult  a  directory,  for 
we  don't  know  all  these  names  ourselves,  but  if 
you  —  " 

"  Mistress,  mistress  !  "  barked  Waddles,  track- 
ing along  the  path  by  which  Anne  had  reached 
the  pond,  nose  close  to  ground.  "  Mistress,  come 
with  me  quick  ;  Tommy  is  in  trouble,  we  can't 
talk  to  him,  and  we  need  you.  Call  the  Miller 
and  follow  me  !  " 


After  Anne  had  left  the  house  that  morning, 
Tommy  returned  after  getting  leave  from  his 
mother  to  go  to  the  pond,  "if,"  she  said,  "you 
take  Anne's  hand  and  are  very  careful." 

He  was  very  much  disappointed,  but  as  he  had 
often  been  with  Baldy  and  Obi  to  the  mill  he 
thought  he  knew  the  way,  and  started  to  follow 
Anne.  The  walk  seemed  very  long  and  rather 
lonely,  so  he  crawled  under  the  first  bars  in  the 
lane,  thinking  he  should  reach  Anne  sooner  by 
following  a  cow  path  across  lots. 

"  Poor  little  Tommy  !  He  did  not  know  that 
between  the  meadow  and  the  pond  lay  an  ugly 
bit  of  bog,  water-holes,  and  treacherous  grass. 
The  place  looked  innocent  enough,  it  was  fun 
hopping  over  half-decayed  tree  trunks  and  sedge 


300  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

tussocks.  Then  his  feet  slipped  and  he  went 
down  flat  into  a  mud-hole,  struggled  to  get  a 
footing,  but  stuck  fast,  kneeling  up  to  his  waist 
in  mud  and  water. 

At  first  he  was  too  much  frightened  to  cry. 
The  Mosquitoes  bit  him,  and  Gnats  and  Midges  al- 
most blinded  him ;  the  more  he  struggled  the  faster 
he  stuck.  He  saw  that  he  could  not  exactly  drown, 
but  the  poor  little  mite  also  realized  that  no  one 
knew  where  he  was.  What  if  Whip's  mate  should 
come  along  !  Then  he  began  to  sob  in  bitter  lone- 
liness and  call  as  loud  as  he  could  for  Lily  and 
Anne. 

****** 

Meanwhile  Waddles  thought  he  would  take  a 
walk,  and,  feeling  very  good-natured,  invited  Lum- 
berlegs  and  Lily  to  go  with  him.  He  nosed  about 
until  he  found  Anne's  trail,  which  at  the  start  ran 
with  Tommy's,  and  all  three  trotted  amicably 
along  until  Waddles  stopped  suddenly  at  the  place 
where  Tommy  had  turned  into  the  pasture. 

"  I  don't  understand  this,"  he  said ;  "  mistress 
never  lets  Tommy  go  in  that  wild  field  by  himself. 
I  wonder  which  track  we  had  better  follow  ?  " 

"  Let  us  follow  missy,"  said  Lumberlegs.  "  It's 
the  best  way  to  the  pond,  and  I  need  a  bath,"  he 
added. 


THE    VILLAGE   IN   THE   POND  301 

"  I  shall  follow  my  master,"  said  Lily,  decidedly. 
"  As  you  say,  Waddles,  he  ought  not  to  be  in  that 
wild  place  alone.  Will  you  nose  the  way  as 
quick  as  you  can  ?  I  feel  anxious,  and  my  nose  is 
not  as  keen  as  my  ears." 

Waddles  started  off  in  a  fairly  straight  line, 
closely  followed  by  Lumberlegs,  while  Lily  ran  as 
fast  as  her  lame  paw,  which  would  always  be 
stiff,  would  let  her.  In  a  few  minutes  Waddles 
began  to  zigzag  and  dash  frantically  in  and  out 
among  the  bushes,  giving  tongue  to  his  loudest 
cry. 

Lily  stopped,  cocked  one  ear,  and  said,  "  I 
hear  master  and  he's  calling  me  ;  he's  hurt  or 
in  trouble.  Can't  you  stop  fooling  and  lead 
straight,  Waddles  ?  Oh,  just  let  me  get  my  teeth 
into  whoever  is  hurting  my  master  !  " 

"  Lead  straight !  "  shrieked  Waddles.  "  Why, 
dog  alive,  how  can  I  ?  The  trail  is  crooked  and 
snarled.  'Ware  ditch  !  "  And  the  three  stopped 
short  in  time  to  save  themselves  from  falling  into 
the  hole  where  Tommy  was  crouching,  very  weary 
by  this  time  and  almost  ready  to  let  his  head  fall 
against  the  bog  grass  and  go  to  sleep. 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  said  Waddles,  trembling 
with  excitement,  to  Lily.  "  I  can't  step  in  there  ; 
my  legs  are  too  short,  and  so  are  yours." 


302  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

Lily,  who  was  old  and  had  seen  much  trouble  in 
her  life,  took  in  the  whole  situation  at  a  glance. 

"  If  he  understood  our  language,  we  could  tell 
him  what  to  do,  but  only  Anne  knows  all  we  say. 
We  must  stop  his  getting  in  deeper,  and  call 
Anne.  Then  we  must  use  our  trades. 

"  Lumberlegs,  your  legs  are  longest,  spread 
your  feet  wide,  step  into  the  hole  and  pull  Tommy 
backward  to  the  log.  My  trade  is  '  take  hold  and 
keep  hold.'  I  will  get  flat  on  the  log  and  hold 
him  fast.  Waddles,  you  find  Anne  and  tell  her 
to  bring  the  Miller.  Now  to  work,  and  don't  for- 
get, for  I  cannot  open  my  mouth  to  speak  when 
once  I  take  my  grip  ;  "  and  as  Lily  looked  at 
Tommy,  Waddles  saw  that  there  were  tears  in  her 
eyes  —  a  fact  that  he  never  told  any  one,  not  even 
Anne,  but  he  never  begrudged  her  his  old  house 
after  that. 

Lumberlegs  did  as  he  was  told,  and  pulled 
bravely  for  so  young  a  dog,  and  Tommy  helped 
all  he  could,  and  stopped  sobbing  when  he  saw  his 
dog  friends.  Lily  spread  her  thick  body  on  the 
the  log  and,  reaching  her  neck  forward  as  far  as 
possible,  sniffed  at  Tommy's  blouse  and  then 
closed  her  jaw  over  it  at  the  belt,  where  she  would 
not  pinch  the  skin.  It  was  a  cruel  strain  upon 
her  neck,  but  she  "  took  hold  and  kept  hold !  " 


303 

Waddles  gave  one  short  bark  and  dashed  off 
toward  the  pond,  baying  wildly. 

###### 

When  Anne,  the  Miller,  and  Waddles  returned, 
Lily  was  still  keeping  hold,  and  Tommy  had  man- 
aged to  work  one  muddy  arm  around  so  that  he 
could  grasp  the  log. 

"  I'm  afeard  to  tech  him  while  that  dog  holds 
on,"  said  the  burly  Miller. 

"  Lily  understands,"  said  Anne,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment Tommy  was  safe  on  the  dry  grass,  and  Anne 
had  kissed  the  Widow  Dog  square  on  her  nose. 
Waddles  in  his  joy  upset  the  Miller  by  running 
between  his  legs,  and  Lumberlegs  licked  his  face 
by  mistake  for  Tommy's. 

"  I  didn't  fall  over  the  mill-dam  and  be  drowned 
anyway,"  gasped  Tommy,  trying  to  lick  up  his 
muddy  tears,  laughing  and  crying  together.  "  Oh, 
Anne,  I  was  doing  to  be  careful  and  take  tight 
hold  of  your  hand,  as  mother  said,  dess  as  soon  as 
I  found  you." 

Anne,  Tommy,  and  Lily  went  home  together, 
but  Waddles  and  Lumberlegs  returned  by  way  of 
the  Horse  Farm  to  tell  the  news  to  the  Duchess. 
She  was  very  polite,  invited  them  to  take  a  drink 
from  her  newly  filled  pail,  and  then  gave  them  a 
dog  biscuit  and  a  chop  bone  apiece. 


304  WABEXO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I'm  pleased  with  all  of  you,"  she  said.  "  Lum- 
berlegs,  my  son,  you  are  a  credit  to  your  family. 
What  did  I  tell  you,  the  other  day  when  you 
were  disputing  about  what  you  were  good  for  ? 
Did  I  not  tell  you  .to  watch  out  and  let  nothing 
go  wrong  at  your  house  ?  Well,  you've  watched 
out  and  worked  at  your  trades  at  the  same  time. 
Mark  my  words,  children,  an  honest  trade  is  a 
good  thing  for  a  dog  to  have,  even  if  he  doesn't 
have  to  work  at  it  for  a  living.  Now  go  home 
and  take  a  nap,  for  I  think  you  will  have  a  good 
meat  dinner  to-day."  They  did. 


XIII 


,  HE  summer  was  as  warm  as  the  winter 
had  been  cold.  Lumberlegs  made  a 
particularly  deep  earth  hole  under 
a  spruce,  where  he  spent  most  of 
the  day-  Lily  patiently  followed  her 
master  everywhere ;  while  Waddles  retired  to  the 
cellar,  where  he  refreshed  himself  with  drinks 
of  ice-water  from  the  pan  under  the  refrigerator, 
which,  with  the  aid  of  Lumberlegs,  he  was  able 
to  pull  out ;  but,  of  course,  forgetting  to  push  it 
back  again,  the  water  from  the  refrigerator  dripped 
on  the  floor.  As  he  took  several  drinks  every  day 
his  relations  with  the  cook,  who  was  responsible 
for  keeping  the  pan  in  place,  became  strained  and 
unpleasant. 

"I'm  glad  he  does  be  goin'  with  'em   to   the 
x  305 


306  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

beach,"  she  said  one  day  in  his  hearing,  "and  I 
hopes  he'll  get  his  fill  of  water  for  wonst.  I've 
no  use  whatever  fer.dogs  as  acts  like  people.  If 
I  don't  mistake  me,  that  Waddles  does  be  queer 
in  his  mind;  and  I'm  thinkin',  someway,  that  he 
and  Miss  Anne  do  have  speech  together." 

Waddles  chuckled  to  himself,  and  immediately 
went  off  and  "had  speech  with  Miss  Anne,"  for 
it  was  the  first  that  he  had  heard  about  going  to 
the  beach.  In  fact,  he  had  no  idea  of  what  a  beach 
was  like. 

"  It  must  have  been  decided  this  morning,  then," 
said  Anne  as  she  listened;  "and  of  course  cook 
knows,  because  she  has  to  be  arranged  with  to 
keep  house  while  we  are  gone." 

"  Anne !  Anne  ! "  cried  Tommy,  "  father- 
mother's  looking  everywhere  for  you  to  tell  you 
a  surprise.  But  I  can  dust  as  well,  for  we're 
going  to  the  water  that  Baldy's  brother  takes  care 
of,  before  next  Sunday !  And  it  isn't  deep  at  first, 
so  I  can't  fall  into  it  much,  and  sometimes  we 
needn't  wear  shoes,  and  —  and  —  we  can  dig  holes 
anywhere,  vely  deep  holes,  and  sit  in  'em,  too,  and 
it  won't  be  dirty  or  a  mustn't  be.  And  Obi's 
going  to  water  my  garden,  and  keep  my  stwashes 
from  falling  off  the  fence. 

"Aren't  you  glad?    don't  you  want  to  sit  in 


THE  SONG  OF  THE  SANDS 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  307 

holes?"  he  added,  pulling  her  hand  as  she  did 
not  speak.  But  this  is  what  Anne  was  saying  to 
herself :  — 

"  The  moon  was  new  last  night ;  I  shall  be  there 
in  time  to  see  the  Shedding  Dance,  for  Kayoshk', 
the  Sea  Gull,  said  it  happens  '  when  the  midsum- 
mer moon  is  full ' ;  now  the  only  trouble  will  be 
to  find  the  place  where  high  and  low  tide  meet." 

The  first  thing  Waddles  did  when  he  arrived 
at  the  shore  was  to  wade  in  and  take  a  good 
drink  of  water.  Presently  he  walked  out  again 
and  began  to  feel  very  giddy,  and  there  was  a 
bitter  taste  in  his  mouth.  "Cook  must  have 
flavoured  this  water,"  he  gasped,  "just  to  spite 
me;  it  tastes  like  the  kind  that  lives  with  the 
pork  in  the  big  stone  pot  at  home,  and  I  saw 
cook  flavour  that  with  white  pebbles.  Oh,  it's 
awful !  I  think  I'm  poisoned ! "  He  was  not, 
however,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  uneaten  his  din- 
ner he  felt  better. 

For  the  first  week  Anne  spent  her  days  on  the 
beach ;  Tommy  prattled  and  played,  but  she  was 
content  to  sit  under  the  shade  of  an  old  boat,  sift- 
ing the  sand  through  her  fingers  and  wondering 
long  wonderments.  She  fancied  the  sands  sang 
songs  about  themselves,  and  every  pebble  seemed 
to  have  a  story  to  tell.  This  one  she  fancied  had 


308  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

been  washed  down  the  home  river  perhaps ;  it  was 
like  the  rock  of  Wenona's  Cliff;  that  one  of  a 
strange  colour  must  have  travelled  a  long  distance 
with  the  tide. 

Then  she  would  look  out  across  the  sea  at  the 
streaks  the  current  made,  and  the  little  circles 
where  the  fishes  jumped,  and  sigh  from  very 
contentment. 

"It's  all  lovely,  and  I  don't  know  what  I  like 
best.  I  wonder  if  there  is  a  village  under  the  sea, 
like  the  Village  in  the  Pond?" 

"  A  country,  not  a  village,"  said  a  voice  from 
the  drifted  seaweeds  that  margined  the  water's 
edge ;  but  it  was  the  same  voice  that  had  sounded 
so  long  ago  from  the  old  oak. 

"Dear  Heart  of  Nature,  are  you  here,  too? 
Have  you  any  gardens  hereabouts?" 

"  Have  I  not  often  told  you,  House  Child,  that 
my  garden  is  everywhere  on  earth  and  in  sky  and 
sea  ?  Under  yonder  water  roof  lies  a  country  full 
of  peopled  cities ;  its  highways  thread  in  and  out 
between  all  the  countries  of  the  upper  world;  its 
mountain  peaks  rise  and  sometimes  threaten  the 
ships  that  pass  over  the  water  roof;  its  valleys 
have  depths  that  no  human  gauge  may  fathom  ;  its 
currents  bring  cold  or  heat  to  the  countries  they 
pass  by ;  its  gardens  stretch  from  north  to  south, 


THE    SHEDDING  DANCE  309 

and  through  these  gardens  and  highways  swim  and 
float  and  crawl  and  drift  the  People  of  the  Sea." 

"  Sea  People  are  good  to  eat,  but  are  they  use- 
ful for  anything  else,  and  do  they  have  good  times 
among  themselves,  or  does  everything  eat  some- 
thing else  the  same  as  it  does  on  land?"  asked 
Anne. 

"  Everything  lives  for  some  other  thing  and  all 
for  the  Plan.  The  land  sends  the  sea  its  wastage ; 
the  Crab,  the  Welk,  and  the  Starfish  eat  it  up;  the 
deep  sea  fishes  eat  these  in  their  turn,  and  Heart 
of  Man  ensnares  these  fishes  for  his  food,  and  so 
the  wheel  of  use  goes  on  revolving  endlessly." 

Anne  sat  very  still,  thinking;  then  she  asked 
suddenly,  "Won't  you  please  tell  me  the  exact 
place  where  high  and  low  tide  meet?"  But 
Heart  of  Nature  had  gone. 

"  That's  too  bad,"  said  Anne ;  "  if  I  had  only 
spoken  quicker !  Heart  of  Nature  always  gives 
me  really  truly  answers  to  whys  and  never  tells 
me  to  ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 

"  Unless  the  whys  are  those  that  House  People 
may  not  yet  know,  and  then  does  Heart  of  Nature 
keep  silence,"  came  a  whisper  close  to  her  ear. 

When  the  water  was  not  too  rough  the  light- 
keeper,  whom  they  named  Rocky  because  he  lived 


310  WABENO,    THE    MAGICIAN 

on  a  rock  (Jeremiah,  his  real  name,  being,  as  Anne 
thought,  too  sad  a  name  to  say),  used  to  row  the 
children  in  his  stout  boat  over  to  an  island  fringed 
with  sand-plum  bushes,  where  there  were  dainty 
shells,  and  where  the  queer  little  Fiddler  Crabs, 
with  one  big  and  one  little  claw,  scuttled  sideways 
to  their  holes ;  not  so  quickly,  however,  but  what 
Tommy  caught  some  for  his  "  quarium,"  which 
was  a  half-barrel  that  had  drifted  in,  and  had  be- 
come buried  to  its  rim  in  the  sand. 

As  they  rowed  along,  Tommy  chattered  to  the 
old  sailor,  Waddles  rested  his  chin  on  the  boat's 
edge  wondering  every  time  it  lurched  what  made 
his  insides  feel  so  loose,  but  Anne  had  only  eyes 
for  the  shadowy  things  she  could  see  through  the 
clear  water,  —  a  forest  of  seaweed,  then  a  Skate 
making  faces  at  a  Horseshoe  Crab  who  was  listen- 
ing to  a  dispute  between  some  Lobsters. 

"  Oh  dear,"  she  sighed,  "  if  I  only  knew  the  spot 
where  high  and  low  tide  meet ! "  Shawondasee 
danced  along.  "  Do  you  know  where  it  is  ?  "  she 
asked  eagerly. 

"  I !  "  said  Shawondasee,  tickling  the  water  into 
pretty  ripples  ;  "  I  think  I  knew  once,  but  I  forget. 
Why  don't  you  ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician  ?  " 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  every  one  says  that,  when  I 
want  to  know  the  most  important  whys,"  sighed 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  311 

Anne,  twisting  her  handkerchief  into  knots  ;  "  for 
if  I  can't  find  the  place,  I  might  as  well  be  at  home, 
as  far  as  seeing  the  Shedding  Dance  goes." 

"Please,  do  crabs  really  dance  and  shed  their 
shells  ?  "  she  asked  aloud  of  Rocky. 

"  Sartin  they  do ;  couldn't  grow  if  they  didn't, 
—  that  is,  I  mean  they  sheds  'em.  I  don't  know 
about  the  dancin' ;  but  I  should  think  they  might 
wrestle  out  uv  the  old  shell  that  way  like  as  any 
other.  When  do  they  do  it?  Well,  little  ones 
sheds  as  often  as  three  or  four  times  a  year,  I  rekon 
'cause  they  grow  fast ;  but  old  ones  don't  shell  out 
of tener  'n  onct  through  July  and  August,  —  time 
fer  'em  now,  —  and  then  soft  fryin'  crabs'll  be 
plenty  fer  a  considerable  spell! 

"  What  makes  'em  soft  ?  Why,  'cause  the  new 
shell  takes  time  ter  harden  ;  it's  a  big  lot  bigger  'n 
the  old  one,  and  if  it  warn't  soft  it  would  split 
shellin'  out  o'  the  old  one." 

"  I  found  a  trab  this  morning  and  he  had  eyes 
and  feet  and  everything,  but  he  was  empty  and  I 
put  him  in  my  qnarium  to  see  if  he'd  grow  full 
again,"  said  Tommy,  "and  there's  lots  of  full 
trabs  walking  low  down  in  that  little  river  behind 
the  beach." 

"  Yes,  the  crick's  full  on  'em,  but  they  lies  low 
and  keeps  under  stones  jest  before  sheddin'." 


312 


WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 


The  moon  grew  rounder  and  rounder  every 
night,  and  as  Anne  watched  it  rising  above  the 
water,  it  did  not  seem  strange  at  all  that  it  helped 
to  pull  the  tides  up  and  down.  In  fact,  she  some- 
times thought  she  could  see  it  at  work,  yet  even 
the  moon,  intimate  as  it  was  with  the  tides,  simply 
smiled  and  could  not  tell  her  where  high  and  low 
tide  meet. 

As  the  night  of  full  moon  grew  nearer  and 
Anne  began  to  give  up  all  hopes  of  seeing  the 
Shedding  Dance,  something  happened  and  Wad- 
dles, as  usual,  was  the  cause  of  it.  He  had  gone 
up  the  creek  early  in  the  afternoon  to  follow  a 
very  attractive  smell,  but  it  was  nearly  tea  time 
before  Anne  saw  him  hurrying  along  the  beach 
with  hanging  head,  looking  behind  him  every  few 
moments  as  if  some  one  was  chasing  him.  As  he 


'$&' 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  313 

drew  near,  she  saw  that  a  heavy  object  was  drag- 
ging from  his  tail. 

"  Wicked  people  have  tied  a  stone  to  Waddles 
and  tried  to  drown  him ! "  she  cried,  hastening  to 
his  rescue.  But  they  hadn't;  a  large  bluish  green 
Crab  held  the  poor  tail  in  its  vicelike  grip. 

"Let  go  this  minute,  or  I'll  bang  you,"  said 
Anne,  picking  up  a  stone ;  "  don't  you  see  how 
you  are  hurting  my  dog?" 

"  If  I  let  go,  will  you  put  me  back  in  the  creek  ? 
I'm  going  to  shed  to-morrow,  and  I  want  to  be  in 
a  quiet  place." 

"I  won't  promise  a  thing,"  said  Anne,  made 
angry  by  Waddles'  pain.  "Will  you  let  go? 
One  —  two  —  "  Before  she  could  say  three  the 
Crab  relaxed  his  grip,  and  Waddles  released  made 
haste  to  reach  the  lighthouse  and  lick  his  pinched 
tail  in  safety. 

"  Please  put  me  back  in  the  creek,"  said  the 
Crab,  looking  in  all  directions  at  once  with  its 
bulging  eyes. 

"  I  won't,  unless  you  tell  me  where  high  and  low 
tide  meet,"  answered  Anne,  promptly. 

"I  suppose  you  wish  to  see  the  Shedding 
Dance,"  said  the  Crab,  evasively. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Anne,  feeling  that  her  chance 
had  come  at  last. 


314  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  I  cannot  answer  what  you  ask,  but  if  you  do 
what  I  tell  you  I  will  lend  you  my  eyes,  so  that 
you  can  see  the  Shedding  Dance  without  going 
into  the  water." 

"Humph,"  thought  Anne,  "this  is  luck!  How 
stupid  T  was  not  to  remember  that  even  if  I  found 
the  place  where  the  tides  meet  it  would  be  sure 
to  be  a  wet  place !  What  must  I  do  ?  "  she  said 
aloud. 

"The  tide  will  be  low  at  sunsjet.  Place  me 
where  the  sand  meets  the  rocks,  then  wait  until 
the  full  moon  comes  up  beyond  the  water." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  said  Anne,  clasping  her 
hands  and  giving  a  little  gasp  of  delight ;  "  but 
don't  you  wish  to  go  to  the  dance  yourself  ?  " 

"I  —  dance ? "  said  the  Crab,  with  a  shiver. 
"  What  a  strange  idea !  I  don't  think  you  can 
understand  about  this  dance,  House  Child.  Who 
told  you  of  it  first  ?  " 

"Kayoshk',  the  Sea  Gull,  who  said  it  always 
happens  when  the  Crabs  begin  to  shed  their 
shells." 

"  True,  but  did  Kayoshk'  say  that  the  Crabs 
danced  ?  " 

"  N — o,  I  only  thought  they  did,  so  as  to  shake 
their  shells  off." 

"  Dance  to  shake  our  shells  off  !  "  exclaimed  the 


THE   SHEDDING   DANCE  315 

Crab,  turning  up  his  eyes  so  far  that  they  nearly 
broke  off  and  twisted  their  necks  badly.  "You 
evidently  have  no  idea  of  what  a  serious  thing 
this  shedding  is  to  a  crab.  Suppose  your  own 
body,  fingers,  toes,  and  eyes  even  were  covered 
with  a  crusty  shell  like  mine,  and  you  had  to  crawl 
out  of  it  through  a  little  hole  under  your  chin,  and 
leave  this  covering  whole  —  would  you  consider 
it  a  dancing  matter  ?  " 

"  No,  I'm  sure  I  would  not.  I  should  be  very 
sad  and  worried,  and  afraid  of  breaking  and  maybe 
leaving  some  toes  or  an  eye  in  the  old  skin," 
said  Anne,  shuddering  at  the  very  idea.  "  How 
do  you  manage  it?  It  seems  impossible,  for  I 
thought  until  now  that  you  only  shed  your  back. 

"  You  make  me  think  of  the  Lobsters ;  they  have 
an  awful  time  in  shedding,  even  if  their  shells 
do  open  nicely  down  their  back.  Why,  sometimes 
they  twist  off  their  claws  altogether,  and  they  get 
so  feeble  that  they  can  hardly  even  catch  a  mouth- 
ful of  food." 

"  It  is  possible  for  us  to  shed  because  it  is  in 
the  Plan,  and  Heart  of  Nature  teaches  us  how  to 
work.  Before  the  time  comes  our  flesh  grows  soft 
and  watery,  then  we  crawl  out  of  the  highways 
and  battle-grounds  under  some  stone  or  into  a 
nook  where  we  may  not  be  seen. 


316  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  We  give  a  mighty  shrug  to  split  our  under 
shell,  then  claw  by  claw  we  pull  and  turn.  Ugh ! 
how  the  joints  ache  as  we  twist  and  wrench  them, 
and  how  sore  and  tired  we  are  when  it  is  over ! 
We  lie  as  still  as  possible,  waiting  for  our  new 
armour  to  harden,  for  we  are  helpless  against  those 
bigger  sea  people  who  eat  us. 

"At  this  time  House  People  call  us  Soft-shell 
Crabs,  and  when  they  catch  us  eat  us  skin  and  all ; 
often  we  take  revenge  and  give  them  stomach 
aches.  Queer  things  House  People  are  !  If  they 
could  see  the  stuff  we  eat,  they  wouldn't  care 
so  much  about  us.  We  were  made  to  eat  the 
wastage  of  the  sea,  and  only  this  year  I  helped  to 
eat  a  pig  that  was  drowned  and  came  down  the 
creek  ; ,  a  dog,  and  —  " 

"  Stop !  don't  tell  me  such  horrid  things  !  "  cried 
Anne  ;  "  how  dare  you  when  you  were  trying  only 
to-day  to  eat  Waddles ! " 

"You  needn't  be  so  fierce,"  replied  the  Crab; 
"  I  don't  eat  live  dogs.  Isn't  it  much  better  for 
the  Sea  People  to  keep  the  shore  swept  clean 
than  to  leave  these  things  lying  about  to  decay 
and  for  people  to  step  upon  ?  " 

"  Y — e — s,  I  suppose  so;  but  please  tell  me  if  the 
Crabs  do  not  dance  who  does,  and  why  is  it  called 
a  Shedding  Dance?" 


THE   SHEDDING   DANCE 


317 


"  The  other  smaller  Crabs  and  Sea  People  dance 
while  we  are  shedding,  because  we  are  too  weak  to 
eat  them;  and  the  bigger  ones  that  eat  us  dance 
because  we  are  so  easy  to  catch,  and  all  the  other 
things  like  the  Sea-worms,  Jellyfish,  and  Skates 
dance  because  they  enjoy  it,  and  it's  quite  the 
thing  to  do." 

"  Then  there  are  other  kinds  of  Crabs  besides 
you,  and  you  and  your  family  are  cannibals  ! " 


"  No,  we  are  not  cannon  balls ;  they  are  round 
iron  rocks  and  there  is  one  down  in  the  creek 
mud." 

"  Cannibals  are  different,"  corrected  Anne ;  "  they 
are  people  who  eat  the  same  kind  of  animals  that 
they  are  themselves." 

"  Say  that  over  again,"  said  the  Crab.  "  Um, 
ah  I  3^es,  I  think  we  must  be  cannibals  !  We  are  a 
large  family,  though  only  a  few  of  us  live  near  this 
beach.  Let  me  see,"  said  he,  counting  on  his 


318  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

claws.  "I'm  the  Blue  Edible  Crab — you  can 
always  tell  me  for  I'm  twice  as  broad  as  I'm  long ; 
then  there's  the  Lady  Crab,  with  the  pretty 
speckled  coat,  who  lives  in  the  sand ;  the  Spider 
Crab;  the  Fiddler,  that  you  see  on  the  sand 
islands  and  creek  meadows ;  the  little  Hermit, 
who  has  no  armour  and  so  borrows  an  empty 
winkle  shell  to  live  in  lest  the  fishes  snap  his 
tail  off  —  besides  a  lot  more." 

"  Do  Crabs  ever  have  tails  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  all  do  when  we  are  young ;  when  we 
grow  our  armour  we  fold  them  up  out  of  sight,  that 
is,  all  but  the  Hermit.  There  is  a  mite  of  a  Crab, 
also,  that  lives  in  the  ears  of  Oysters,  and  so  often 
gets  put  in  pickle  with  them  and  wears  their 
name ;  then  there's  the  big  Horseshoe  Crab  that 
swims  like  a  fish,  and  can  turn  somersaults,  even 
on  land,  by  aid  of  his  spike  tail." 

The  tea  bell  sounded  from  the  piazza  and  Anne 
placed  the  Crab  where  she  had  been  told,  on  the 
narrow  strip  of  beach  below  the  light,  and  hurried 
indoors. 

****** 

A  little  before  dark,  when  Tommy  was  being 
put  to  bed,  Anne  crept  down  the  ledge  to  where 
Rocky  was  sitting  on  the  edge  of  his  boat  smoking 
his  pipe. 


THE   SHEDDING   DANCE  319 

It  was  a  perfect  night;  the  lighthouse  kept 
scanning  the  sea  with  its  wise,  fiery  eye,  and  in 
the  east  a  silver  line  told  where  the  moon  was 
hiding. 

"Are  you  going  to  stay  out  long,  Rocky?" 
asked  Anne,  anxiously,  "because  father-mother 
said  I  might  stay  here  to  see  the  moon  rise  if 
you  stay." 

"  Yes,  I'll  be  about  till  the  tide  pulls  up  a  spell ; 
I  want  to  net  a  mess  o'  bait  to-night.  Set  down 
on  that  flat  rock  and  you'll  see  nice ;  the  sand's 
soft  and  tricky  jest  here  below  high  water  mark." 

Anne  laughed  to  herself;  could  anything  be 
finer?  The  Crab  was  waiting  under  the  edge  of 
that  very  stone ! 

A  silver  rim  began  to  peep  above  the  water,  and 
the  light  slipped  along  the  ripples  to  the  beach. 

"  Are  you  ready  ?  "  asked  the  Crab. 

"Yes,"  whispered  Anne. 

"  Shut  your  eyes,  wish,  and  then  open  them,  not 
forgetting  to  put  on  the  Magic  Spectacles." 


A  chilly  sound  of  rushing  water  came  in  Anne's 
ears  and  something  brushed  against  her  face.  She 
put  out  her  hand  to  push  it  away  and  saw  that 
she  was  sliding  into  the  middle  of  a  great  field 


320  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

of  eel  grass;  shapes  were  everywhere,  and  small 
fishes  moved  through  the  grass  tops  like  birds 
among  trees  ;  there  were  the  footprints  in  the  sand 
where  the  Sandpipers  had  written  their  names 
at  low  tide,  and  above  all  was  the  water  roof. 

Then  Anne  noticed  that  what  she  put  out  as  a 
hand  was  really  a  crab  claw,  also  that  her  eyes 
stuck  out  on  top,  and  that  she  could  see  backward 
as  well  as  forward. 

"  Why ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  my  Blue  Crab  has 
shed  its  shell  and  lent  it  to  me,  eyes  and  all.  I 
think,  however,  I'd  better  creep  under  this  stone 
and  see  what  will  happen ;  for  if  I  walk  out  in  the 
open,  something  may  eat  me  by  mistake."  Then, 
as  she  tried  to  turn,  she  found  that  the  only  way 
she  could  move  was  to  slide  half  sideways. 

"  I  think  you  are  wise,"  said  a  sandy  voice  close 
by  the  stone  ;  "  it's  dangerous  for  us  to  get  into  the 
whirl  of  the  dance,  for  we  may  have  to  shed  at 
any  moment,  and  then  when  supper  time  comes 
who  knows  what  Lobster  might  take  a  fancy  to 
us." 

Anne  turned  her  eyes  slowly  and  saw  beside 
her  a  very  handsome,  almost  round  Crab,  wearing 
white  armour  beautifully  spotted  with  red  and 
purple,  and  fringy-edged  claws. 

"  Humph !    this  must  be  the  Lady  Crab,"   she 


THE   SHEDDING   DANCE 


321 


thought.  At  that  instant  the  words  "  'Ware,  Lob- 
ster ! "  were  heard  on  every  side.  The  Lady  Crab 
backed  down  into  the  sand  up  to  her  eyes,  and 
through  a  highway  that  ran  between  the  eel  grass 
and  a  rocky  hill,  thickly  covered  by  a  heavy  forest 
of  seaweeds,  came  a  pair  of  good-sized  Lobsters. 

They  stopped  when  almost  opposite  Anne's  hid- 
ing-place ;  one  crawled  into  the  seaweed,  tore  some 
Mussels  from  the  rocks,  cracked  them  between  one 
|     claw,  and  began  to  eat  them  greedily. 

"  Where  were  you  last 
night  ? "  asked  the  one  who 
was  not  eating. 

"  In  the  lobster  pot  of  that 
great  land  monster  who  lives 
on  top  of  the  rocks,  who  looks 
into   the  water   every   night 
with  one  red  eye,  but 
'-.* ;,  is  blind  by  day." 

"  Oh  ! "      thought 
-^  ^?       Anne,  "  he  is  mixing 
••      » „      up  Rocky  and 

\  %  **JH  •*-  *S 


• --  *-.--.-7:^>~:-,  . 


322  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

the  lighthouse  ;  I  never  thought  before  how  strange 
the  things  on  land  would  seem  to  Sea  People,  for 
I'm  sure  sea  things  seem  very  queer  to  me." 

"  How  did  you  get  out  of  the  pot  ?  "  continued 
the  talkative  Lobster. 

"  Gave  him  a  nip  when  he  was  tipping  me  into 
the  big  oyster  shell  he  sails  about  in;  he  grabbed 
my  best  claw,  and  when  I  struggled  it  broke  off. 
Look  !  "  and  the  Lobster  held  up  a  stump. 

"  That's  bad,  but  it ,  will  soon  grow  out  again. 
Are  you  going  to  the  dance  to-night,  or  later  on  ?  " 

"  To-night ;  I  feel  it  in  my  back  that  I,  too,  shall 
have  to  shed  soon ;  my  shell  is  horribly  tight." 

"  Well,  we  are  in  a  good  place  to  look  on.  This 
year  the  dance  forms  around  the  edge  of  flat  island 
only  a  little  farther  on,  and  the  supper  hunt  goes 
from  there  well  up  the  creek.  Are  you  through  ? 
Then  we  had  better  move  on." 

"  What  is  the  supper  hunt  ?  "  asked  Anne. 

"  What  ignorance  !  "  sneered  the  Lady  Crab ; 
"  as  if  every  one  of  our  tribe  from  Gull  Grounds 
down  to  Alligator  Point  does  not  know  that  when 
the  Fiddler  Crabs  stop  playing,  the  dance  ends, 
and  they  all  go  to  the  Place,  and  everybody 
catches  some  one  else  to  eat  for  supper.  It's  obey- 
ing the  first  rule  of  the  Sea  People." 

"  What  a  horrid  cruel  party,"  said  Anne  with  a 


IN  THE  BOAT 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  323 

shiver;  "at  the  Forest  Circus,  even  though  Wild 
Cats  and  Rabbits  were  there  together,  no  one  miyht 
eat  any  one  else  on  the  premises  !  " 

"I  don't  understand  a  thing  you  are  talking 
about,"  said  the  Lady  Crab.  "  Are  you  a  foreigner 
washed  up  from  some  strange  country  ?  We  often 
have  such  people  washed  here,"  snapping  his  claws, 
"  but  they  don't  live  long." 

"  Yes,  I  am  a  foreigner,"  replied  Anne,  laughing 
softly  ;  "  but  I  was  wished,  not  washed,  here,  and  I 
advise  you  to  keep  your  claws  off  me.  What  do 
you  mean  by  the  Place,  and  what  is  the  First  Rule 
of  the  Sea  People  ?  "  and  her  voice  sounded  very 
loud  as  it  echoed  against  the  water  roof. 

"  The  Place  —  why,  it  is  where  high  and  low  tide 
meet ;  the  rule  is,  Eat  and  be  eaten ! "  and  then 
added  to  herself,  "  What  a  voice  for  a  Crab !  I 
wonder  if  this  can  be  a  Nee-ba-naw-baig  spying 
about?  I  heard  when  I  was  up  the  creek  that 
those  Water  Spirits  could  travel  anywhere  in  any 
shape,  and  see  through  the  biggest  rocks  and 
deepest  sand." 

Suddenly  a  strange  sort  of  music  sounded  from 
the  open  space  at  the  end  of  the  highway.  It 
moaned  and  squeaked  and  sounded  like  the  fid- 
dling of  dry  bows  upon  rusty  strings.  Anne  for- 
got all  about  hiding,  and  made  her  way  awkwardly 


324  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

toward  the  open  water,  and  the  Lady  Crab  fol- 
lowed. 

Upon  a  sunken  island,  half  rock,  half  sand,  sat 
hundreds  of  Fiddler  Crabs  in  a  circle,  playing  away 
for  dear  life,  by  using  their  big  claw  for  a  violin, 
the  little  one  for  a  bow.  Around  this  island,  circle 
upon  circle,  as  far  as  Anne  could  see  by  stretching 
her  eyes  as  much  as  possible,  were  ranged  the  Sea 
People  of  the  bay. 

Nearest  the  island,  clinging  to  the  rocks,  were 
the  Mussels :  the  plain,  the  Blue  Mussel,  the 
smooth,  and  the  Horse  Mussel,  who  wears  a  rough 
mane  upon  his  shell.  They  kept  step  and  time  to 
the  music  by  opening  and  shutting  their  shells. 

Behind  these  were  ranged  the  various  Clams  in 
family  rows.  The  Little  Necks  had  the  place  of 
honour;  then  came  the  round  Sea  Clams  that  al- 
ways keep  down  under  the  water  roof;  the  long- 
necked  Beach  Clams  that  love  the  sand ;  and  the 
long,  thin  Razor  Clams  that  looked  like  change- 
lings among  their  stouter  brethren.  The  Clams 
kept  time  to  the  music  by  clapping  their  shells 
together  like  cymbals. 

The  Scallops  swam  gracefully  along,  opening 
and  shutting  their  shells  in  perfect  rhythm,  and 
waving  their  pink  and  yellow  inner  mantles  grace- 
fully. They  are  very  proud  Shell-fish  and  have  a 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  325 

long  pedigree  ;  for  is  it  not  written  in  history  that 
no  less  a  person  than  Richard,  the  king,  to  whom 
a  Lion  once  lent  his  heart,  wore  a  Scallop  shell  on 
his  helmet  as  a  charm  when  he  went  to  war  ?  At 
least,  that  is  the  way  the  story  is  written  in  ocean 
history,  and  it  came  down  to  the  Sea  People 
through  a  very  great-grandchild  of  the  Lion,  who, 
when  bathing  on  a  far-away  beach,  once  told  it 
to  the  ancestors  of  the  Scallop  Family,  who  first 
came  to  America  in  the  good  ship  Killer  Whale, 
which  ship  being  wrecked  by  a  lightning  bolt 
(called  by  House  People  a  harpoon)  just  before 
reaching  land,  the  family  camped  on  a  convenient 
sandbar  and  became  "  early  settlers  "  of  the  whole 
bay. 

The  brown  Horseshoe  Crabs  did  the  most  fan- 
tastic dancing,  —  one  —  two  —  three,  swim,  sink, 
—  turn  a  somersault,  —  up  and  down  the  line. 

In  little  groups  and  squads  came  other  crawlers, 
— the  Periwinkles,  that  know  the  song  of  the  Ocean 
so  well  that  if  you  put  your  ear  to  their  empty 
shells  even,  you  may  hear  them  singing  it;  all  the 
little  borers  that  drill  through  the  hard  shells  of 
their  neighbours,  and  the  useful  Whelk  that  picks 
up  the  scraps  left  by  the  larger  hunters. 

Outside  these  crawlers  trooped  the  moving 
flowers  of  the  ocean  with  glistening  bodies,  —  the 


326  W  ABEND,   THE  MAGICIAN 

Sea  Cucumber  and  Jellyfish,  doing  a  skirt  dance 
with  much  waving  of  arms ;  the  Sand  Dollar, 
turning  cart  wheels ;  the  common  Sea  Urchin 
humping  like  a  hedgehog;  while  the  cruel  Star- 
fishes, who  hug  their  shelly  brethren  to  death 
that  they  may  suck  their  blood,  did  the  quaintest 
five-step  waltz  imaginable. 

Behind  these  creepers  came  the  finny  folk,  — 
the  Skate,  whose  long  black  eggs  with  hooked 
corners  looking  like  seaweed  bladders,  all  House 
People  know,  coming  first,  followed  by  a  myriad 
different  fishes.  These  Skates  dance  with  their 
faces,  and  can  take  more  steps  with  their  mouths 
than  a  centipede  could  with  its  legs. 

"Where  are  the  Oysters?  I  haven't  seen  one," 
said  Anne  to  the  Lady  Crab  presently,  closing  her 
eyes,  for  the  wavy  motions  of  so  many  creatures 
made  her  dizzy. 

"What  are  you,  anyway?"  snapped  the  Crab. 
"I  think  you  must  belong  in  fresh  water;  you 


THE   SHEDDING   DANCE  327 

don't  even  know  the  Sea  Alphabet,  which  says 
under  letter  R,  '  No  oyster  shall  go  from  home  or 
take  part  in  any  festival  in  a  month  that  has  no  R 
in  it,'  for  these  are  their  hatching  months.  Even 
House  People  know  this  rule  and  respect  it,  and 
seldom  eat  oysters  in  those  R'less  months." 

"  Months  without  an  R,"  said  Anne,  musingly ; 
"  May,  June,  July,  and  August  have  no  R's,  to  be 
sure,  and  this  is  July.  It  sounds  true  and  is  not 
a  bad  rule,  either  —  something  like  not  killing  birds 
in  the  nesting  season." 

Meanwhile  the  even  lines  were  breaking,  and 
when  Anne  turned  to  see  if  she  could  count  still 
more  of  the  Sea  People,  the  dancers  were  rising 
and  falling  like  the  waves  themselves. 

Suddenly  the  Fiddlers  stopped  their  music  and 
there  was  a  rush  and  scuffle  along  the  bottom. 
"  To  the  Place !  They  are  going  to  the  Place,  — 
'ware  Lobsters  ! "  screamed  the  Lady  Crab  again, 
burying  herself  to  the  eyes. 

Anne,  knowing  that  this  was  her  only  chance  of 
seeing  the  place  where  high  and  low  water  meet, 
tried  to  follow. 

The  scurrying  grew  louder  and  seemed  to  be 
coming  nearer ;  a  strange  silver  light  mixed  with 
the  dancers  who  swirled  about  as  if  turning  to 
water. 


328  WABENO,   THE  MAGICIAN 

"  My  eyes !  give  me  back  my  eyes !  "  cried  the 
voice  of  the  Blue  Crab.  "  Quick,  shut  yours, 
Anne,  rub  them  and  off  with  the  Magic  Spec- 
tacles ! " 

Anne  fumbled  clumsily,  hardly  knowing  whether 
she  had  fingers  or  claws. 

The  noise  grew  louder  and  the  silvery  lines  of 
sea  folk  rolled  and  danced  yet  more  wildly,  some 
flying  up  into  the  air. 

"  Wind's  comin'  up  squally  with  tide  turn ;  jest 
got  my  bait  in  time,"  said  Rooky's  voice. 

Anne  rubbed  her  eyes  hard.  The  boat  grated 
over  the  pebbles  and  stuck  its  keel  in  the  sand, 
and  she  saw  that  the  water  was  rolling  up  the 
shallows,  and  the  dashing  white  caps  were  dancing 
and  shimmering  in  the  moonlight. 

"  What's  ailin'  ?  Yer  look  skairt,"  said  Rocky, 
noticing  her  confusion.  "Seen  suthin'?  Full 
moon  allers  makes  things  in  the  water  look  black 
and  extry  queer." 

"Nothing  —  that  is  —  the  Crab  took  back  its 
eyes  too  soon  and  I  couldn't  get  to  the  place  where 
high  and  low  tide  meet." 

"  Yes,  it's  too  soon  fer  Crabs,"  he  replied,  not 
exactly  hearing  what  she  said.  "  It's  sheddin'  time 
and  we'll  have  soft  ones  soon,  then  after  a  spell, 
when  they've  hardened  up,  you  and  I  and  Tommy 


THE   SHEDDING  DANCE  329 

can  go  a-crabbin'  for  biters  up  the  crick.  There's 
a  shed  shell  now,  fust  I've  seen,"  and  he  stooped 
and  picked  the  empty  shell  of  the  Blue  Crab  from 
under  the  rock  and  gave  it  to  Anne. 

She  rose  stiffly  to  her  feet  and  looked  first  at  the 
shell,  then  at  Rocky,  and  out  over  the  water 
with  a  puzzled  gaze. 

"What  is  it,  little  Owl?"  said  her  father,  who 
had  come  down  the  beach  to  find  her.  "What 
wonderful  things  have  you  seen  in  the  water? 
I've  been  watching  you  for  half  an  hour  and 
you've  scarcely  moved." 

Anne  turned  her  face  up  to  him  in  the  moon- 
light, and  smiling  mischievously,  held  out  the 
shell,  saying :  — 

"  Father  dear,  I  mustn't  tell  you  unless  you  can 
show  me  the  place  where  high  and  low  tide  meet, 
because  what  I've  seen  is  a  very  great  secret  be- 
tween the  Crab,  who  used  to  live  in  this  shell,  and 
me." 

Then  the  lighthouse  winked  its  red  eye  more 
wisely  than  ever. 


(Jift 

OX  was  brought  in  from 
pasture    a    week    before 
Anne  returned  from  the 
shore,  so  that  the  dear 
old  horse  was  the   first   thing 
she  saw  on  driving  through  the 
home  gateway.      His  eyes  were   bright, 
his  coat  looked  as  glossy  as  good  brush- 
ing could  make  it,  his  hoofs  were  in  fine 
shape    and    nicely    polished,   his    mane, 
though  rather  short,  was  nicely  combed, 
and  he  wore  a  tan-coloured  bridle  with  blue  ear 
knots,  and  the   prettiest  imaginable  saddle  with 
330 


WABENO'S  GIFT  331 

a  blue  cloth.  As  for  his  tail,  it  was  such  an  ad- 
mirable match  for  his  mane,  and  so  well  fastened 
by  the  crupper,  that  no  one  would  have  imagined 
that  it  was  not  the  original  home-grown  article. 

Of  course  his  legs  were  not  as  straight  or  his 
waist  as  slim  as  if  he  had  not  been  through  so 
many  hardships,  but  what  of  that  ?  If  everything 
had  gone  well  with  him,  he  would  not  have  come 
drifting  back  to  the  Horse  Farm,  Miss  Jule  would 
not  have  had  the  joy  of  curing  him,  or  Anne  of 
riding  him. 

Anne  scrambled  from  the  depot  wagon  almost 
before  it  stopped,  and  threw  her  arms  first  around 
Fox's  neck  and  then  hugged  Miss  Jule,  who  had 
been  hiding  in  the  shadow  of  the  house,  the  better 
to  see  the  meeting.  Then  Lumberlegs  came 
bounding  up  bow-bowing  with  joy.  He  had 
grown  so  much  that  when  he  put  his  paws  on 
Anne's  shoulders  to  lick  her  nose,  he  looked  quite 
over  her  head. 

At  this  Waddles  set  up  his  most  vigorous  bay- 
ing, Fox  neighed,  and  for  a  moment  nobody  could 
hear  themselves  even  think. 

As  for  Lily,  she  was  too  happy  to  make  a  sound, 
but  throwing  herself  at  her  little  master's  feet  she 
licked  his  dusty  shoes. 


332  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

After  having  been  away  for  nearly  two  months, 
of  course  there  was  a  great  deal  for  the  children 
to  see  on  their  return,  and  they  made  fresh  dis- 
coveries every  day. 

Their  gardens  had  overgrown  all  bounds. 
Anne's  still  looked  very  pretty,  thanks  to  Obi's 
care  in  weeding  it  and  keeping  the  sweet  peas 
from  going  to  seed  ;  but  Tommy's  was  a  wreck. 
The  onions  at  the  corners  had  sent  up  long  flower 
stalks,  which  had  gone  to  seed  and  tumbled  over, 
and  the  peas  and  beans  were  yellow  and  full  of 
dry  pods.  The  squash  vines,  however,  were  mag- 
nificent and  covered  the  fence,  while  the  yellow 
crooknecks  peeped  from  between  the  big  rough 
leaves. 

"  It  will  soon  be  time  to  take  up  my  geraniums 
to  keep  in  my  window,"  said  Anne,  as  they  were 
looking  at  their  gardens  one  September  morning. 
"  You  haven't  anything  to  pick  or  take  up,  Tom- 
my ;  wouldn't  you  like  one  of  my  Fuchsias  and  a 
Heliotrope  ?  " 

"Yes,  I've  lots  to  pick,  —  beans  and  peas  and 
everything !  Course  they're  rather  dry  to  cook 
for  us,  but  I  tan  feed  them  to  the  hungry  quail 
birds  next  winter;  and  oh,  Anne,  do  help  me  tount 
my  stwashes  !  Obi  says  there  is  'leven  or  fifteen ; 
I've  dot  'nough  to  make  a  whole  flock  of  lovely 


WABENO'S   GIFT  333 

ornaments  for  Miss  Jule,  and,  Anne,  what  do  you 
fink  ?  If  you'll  help  me  put  their  feathers  on,  I'll 
div  you  one  for  yourself." 


One  afternoon  Anne  strolled  down  to  the  po- 
tato field  where  she  had  found  Bek-wuk,  the  Arrow- 
head. The  potatoes  had  been  dug,  the  ground 
ploughed,  and  Baldy  was  preparing  to  sow  it  with 
wheat  from  the  bag  that  stood  by  the  stone  fence. 
The  other  home  fields  and  those  that  belonged  to 
the  Horse  Farm  were  empty,  the  wheat,  rye,  and 
oats  that  had  grown  in  them  having  long  ago  been 
reaped,  and  the  buzz  of  the  threshing-machine 
sounded  from  the  great  barn.  Even  the  corn  in 
the  valley  fields  was  being  gathered  into  stacks 
like  wigwams. 

A  Crow  flew  awkwardly  overhead,  perched  on 
the  fence,  and  reaching  over  pecked  inquisitively 
at  the  bag  of  wheat,  giving  a  squawk  and  jump 
when  he  discovered  Anne.  It  was  the  one-eyed 
Crow  with  the  lame  wing. 

"  Oh,  ho !  is  that  you,  Kaw  Ondaig  ?  What 
have  you  been  doing  all  summer,  and  how  dared 
the  other  Crows  come  back  from  the  mountain 
where  the  Bird  Brotherhood  sent  them  ?  There 
are  Crows  in  every  field  as  far  as  I  can  see,  besides 


334  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

those  that  are  talking  way  over  in  the  Miller's 
wood." 

"How  have  I  been?  Very  well  and  comfort- 
able, plenty  to  eat  and  no  harrying.  I  was  so 
honest  down  at  the  Farm  that,  until  the  corn 
ripened,  I  almost  forgot  that  I  was  a  Crow.  As 
for  the  rest  of  the  tribe,  do  you  not  remember 
that  they  were  only  banished  during  the  song 
birds'  nesting  season,  and  that  is  over  long  since? 
They  have  come  back  to  the  cornfields  for  their 
tithe  of  the  harvest." 

"  Yes,  of  course,  to  steal  corn  when  there  are  no 
more  nests  to  rob.  I  would  not  be  so  kind  as  the 
Bird  Brotherhood ;  if  I  had  my  way,  the  Crows 
should  go  away  for  good." 

"  House  People  cannot  drive  us  away,"  screamed 
the  old  Crow,  napping  his  wings  boldly;  "they 
shoot  and  harry  us,  tempt  us  with  poisoned  food, 
and  still  we  are  here  at  the  corn  harvest  —  it  is 
our  right ;  Wabeno  gave  it  to  us  through  our  an- 
cestor, Kaw-kaw,  the  northern  Raven.  Yes,  ask 
Wabeno,  the  Magician,  and  he  will  tell  you  that 
it  is  so." 

Anne  felt  a  little  abashed  at  Kaw  Ondaig's 
fierceness,  and,  climbing  over  the  fence  to  the 
first  cornfield,  she  threw  herself  down  in  the 
shade  of  one  of  the  stacks,  nestling  backward 


WABENO'S   GIFT  335 

among  the  long  leaves  until  she  seemed  to  be 
sitting  in  the  doorway  of  a  wigwam. 

The  Crows  came  flapping  and  calling  about  her, 
and  Mudjekeewis,  the  West  Wind,  whispered  and 
gossiped  about  the  field,  while  from  a  far  corner 
a  Quail  family  were  making  their  way  to  glean 
their  supper  among  the  oat  stubble. 

"I  don't  believe  that  Wabeno  ever  told  the 
Crows  that  they  could  take  corn  every  year," 
said  Anne  aloud. 

"  Yes,  he  did,"  said  Mudjekeewis  ;  "  I  was  there 
and  heard  him  say  so  myself.  To  be  sure,  it  was 
very  long  ago,  on  the  very  day  when  Wabeno  gave 
the  gift  of  corn  to  the  Red  Brothers." 

"  Ah,  so  you  are  back  again !  Don't  be  in  a 
hurry,  Mudjekeewis,  but  come  and  rest  in  this 
nice  tent,  and  tell  me  about  the  Red  Brothers 
and  Wabeno.  Was  corn  a  very  great  gift  to 
them?" 

"  Yes,  Mondamin,  Maize,  or,  as  you  say,  corn, 
meant  bread  to  them  ;  bread  when  the  buffalo  were 
gone,  bread  when  all  wild  game  failed.  House 
Child,  do  you  know  that  in  all  the  corners  of  the 
world  where  I  have  been  bread  is  the  greatest  gift 
of  earth  to  man  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  bread  is  a  '  must  be,'  but  we  do  not 
make  ours  of  corn  meal." 


336  WABENO,  THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Different  grains  for  different  lands,"  said  the 
Wind ;  "  grains  for  heat  and  grains  for  cold,  and 
of  all  the  grains  —  " 

"I  am  the  King,"  whispered  the  Wheat  that 
Baldy  was  sowing,  to  the  Wind  that  helped  scatter 
it.  "  No  man  knows  from  whence  I  came  or  what 
country  gave  me  birth ;  before  man  could  be  I  was, 
and  if  I  should  disappear  man  would  follow.  The 
world  waits  each  harvest  to  know  how  I  have 
thriven,  that  it  may  measure  its  strength.  I  am 
hearty  myself ;  I  need  deep,  sharp  soil  to  eat  and 
from  which  to  rear  my  proud  head  on  a  straight, 
stiff  stalk." 

"  I  am  more  humble,"  called  the  scattered  Rye 
in  the  thresher;  "the  bread  I  yield  is  dark  and 
coarse,  truly,  but  the  ploughman  loves  it.  I  can 
grow  anywhere,  and  on  my  straws  the  well-fed 
cattle  sleep  sound  o'  winter  nights,  while  I  give 
them  dreams  of  summer  pasturing." 

"  I  am  Monomin,  the  magic  grain,"  said  the  Oats 
that  the  Quail  were  gleaning.  "  I  whisper  to  the 
tired,  hungry  horse,  '  Up  and  away  ! '  and  fire  re- 
turns to  his  eye  and  strength  to  his  limbs  as  he 
feels  me  stirring  within  him.  Then  in  bleak, 
northern  lands  I  give  the  people  vital  heat  and 
life  in  bread  and  porridge." 

"  There  are  two  other  grains  that  I  know  well," 


WABENO'S  GIFT 


387 


said  Mudjekeewis,  "  Rice,  the  bread  of 
the  most  far-away  East,  and  Barley 
that  lives  and  thrives  from  north  to 
south  and  is  swallowed  both  as  bread 
and  as  beer.  The  Wheat  spoke  truly, 
in  the  strength  of  the  Corn  Brother- 
hood lies  the  strength  of  the  world." 

"  I  want  to  hear  where  our  corn  came 
from  and  how  Wabeno  gave  it  to 
the    Red    Brothers,"    said    Anne. 
"Come   back,  please,  and   tell   me 
the  story." 

"  How   and   whence    Mondamin, 
or  Indian  corn,  came  ?  "  said  Mudje- 
keewis, sinking  to  the  ground  and 
breathing  lightly.     "  How  came   ^HE 
it?  That  I  can  answer.   Whence? 
That  is  my  friend's,  Wabeno's,  secret. 
Even  of  the  manner  of  its  coming 
there  are  many  legends.     I  tell  you 
only  what  I  know,  and  if  any  doubt 
my  tale,  as  you  repeat  it,  only  say, 
'  Mudjekeewis  told  me  this,  let  it  suf- 
fice,' "  and  the  Wind's  voice  sank  to 
a  whisper. 

"  In  a  pleasant  country  lived  an  Indian  with  his 
squaw  and  family;  but  it  was  a  hungry  land,  so 


RYE; 


OATS 


338  WABENO,   THE   MAGICIAN 

what  signified  beautiful  valleys  if  no  buffaloes 
grazed  in  them,  or  deep  silent  woods  if  no  deer  and 
wild  fowl  were  sheltered  there  ? 

"  It  was  early  spring.  The  Indian  had  no  grown 
sons  to  go  on  the  far-away  hunting  trail ;  his  chil- 
dren were  young  and  wailed  with  hunger  as  the 
dried  fish  and  meat  began  to  fail,  and  it  was  not 
yet  time  for  the  spring  shad  running. 

"  The  oldest  child  was  a  youth  upon  whose  time- 
stick  were  cut  the  notches  of  fourteen  winters,  and 
in  his  heart  he  longed  to  help  his  parents,  but 
knew  not  how. 

"  When  an  Indian  boy  has  lived  fourteen  winters, 
he  is  no  longer  called  a  child  ;  his  play  da}^s  are  put 
away  from  him,  divided  from  his  manhood  by  a  fast- 
ing time  of  seven  days.  During  these  days  the  boy 
lives  alone  on  the  wood  edge  in  a  hut  his  mother 
builds.  Alone  with  Heart  of  Nature  and  the  Great 
Spirit,  which  is  the  name  the  Red  Brothers  give 
Heart  of  God ;  alone,  with  time  to  think.  If  the 
boy  was  held  worthy  in  this  fasting  Wabeno  would 
send  Wagoose,  the  Dream  Fox,  to  him  with  a  dream 
which,  being  read  aright,  would  bring  good  to  all 
the  people  of  his  tribe. 

"  This  boy,  called  Penaisee  —  little  bird  — 
by  the  tribe,  because  he  could  make  almost  every 
bird  note  with  his  flute  of  hollow  reeds,  longed  for 


WABENO'S  GIFT 


339 


the  fasting  time  to  come 
in  the  hope  that  he  might 
see   in  a  dream  how  to 
bring   plenty  again  to  his 
people. 

"  When    the    Willows 
began    to   grow   green    at 
the  tips,  flowers  whitened 
the   meadows,  and  he 
saw     his    mother 
steal  to  the  wood 
edge  and  weave  to-     ^  ^^^ 
gether  a  rude  wigwam, 
he    knew    the     fasting 
time   had   come,  and   he 
hastened  to  keep  it  glad- 
ly.     The    silence    only 
elated  him  at  first.     He 
went  about  peeping  here 
and  there,  gathering  arm- 
fuls  of  blossoms  and  heap- 
ing them  on  the  ground 
for  a  bed,  where  he  spent 
the  first  night  looking 
at  the  stars  and  watch-    ' 
ing  for  Wabeno  and  the 
Dream   Fox.      For  five  days  he  wandered 


thus, 


340  WABENO,  THE  MAGICIAN 

watching  each  night,  nothing  but  water  passing  his 
lips,  until  his  body  grew  spent  and  his  eyes  hollow 
with  hunger,  and,  picking  with  his  last  strength  a 
branch  of  Dogwood  blossoms,  he  staggered  to  his 
wigwam  in  despair,  saying:  '  Wabeno  will  not  give 
a  dream.  I  shall  starve  and  my  people  also.' 

"  This  was  at  twilight  on  the  sixth  day.  Then 
we  Winds  took  pity  on  Penaisee  and  whispered 
to  him  counsel :  '  Lie  down,  Penaisee,  little  bird, 
and  close  the  outward  eyes,  for  by  them  never  may 
Wabeno  be  seen ;  it  is  the  inward  eye,  open  only 
in  sleep,  that  may  see  the  Dream  Fox's  picture 
book.  Sleep,  Penaisee,  sleep  and  wait ! ' 

"  Penaisee  obeyed,  and  as  the  light  of  the  full 
Planting  Moon  crept  round  and  looked  him  in  the 
face,  he  saw  coming  between  the  trees  the  mystic 
figure  of  Wabeno,  clad  in  strange  green  leaves, 
while  Kaw-kaw,  the  Raven,  flew  near  him,  Wa- 
goose  following. 

"  Raising  one  hand,  Wabeno  struck  the  magic 
drum,  which  gave  a  strange  rattling  noise,  while 
with  the  other  he  made  passes  in  the  air.  On  he 
v/alked,  straight  into  the  wigwam,  which  grew 
higher  that  it  might  receive  him.  Then  he 
stooped  by  Penaisee,  touched  him  upon  the  ears 
and  lips  to  signify  that  he  was  to  listen,  but  not 
speak. 


WABENO'S   GIFT  341 

"Next  Wabeno  unfastened  the  skin  that  cov- 
ered his  magic  drum  and,  lo !  the  bowl  was  filled 
with  round  pale  yellow  kernels  like  small  rough 
pebbles.  Laying  these  on  the  ground  he  carefully 
covered  his  drum  again  and  spoke,  while  at  his 
words  the  Whippoorwill  hushed  its  calling  and 
the  Night-hawk  paused  in  mid  air,  with  spread 
wings,  in  sheer  amazement. 

"  '  Penaisee,'  he  said,  '  I  know  your  wish  and 
your  need.  Because  your  wish  is  not  for  yourself 
alone,  I  listen.  For  my  gift  I  give  these  magic 
seeds  from  out  my  magic  drum.  Sleep  yet  another 
night,  then  arise  and  with  a  crooked  stick  make 
holes  a  stride  apart  in  yonder  open  ground.  In 
each  hole  put  three  kernels,  one  for  me,  one  for 
thee,  and  one  for  Wagoose,  the  Dream  Fox.  Cover 
them  and  watch  the  growth.  For  two  moons 
draw  the  earth  upward  about  what  grows  and  keep 
wasting  weeds  away.  At  midsummer  full  moon, 
when  your  fasting  lodge  is  empty,  will  I  come  and 
touch  the  flowers  that  grow  upon  the  stalks  to 
make  them  fruitful.' 

"Then  Wabeno  stooped,  and  picking  up  a 
spray  of  Dogwood  blossoms,  laid  them  on  the 
boy's  eyes,  saying :  '  This  shall  be  a  sign  to  you. 
Yearly  when  these  flowers  bloom  it  is  the  time  to 
sow  the  seed  of  Mondamin,  Wabeno's  gift.' 


342  WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 

"  Then  Kaw-kaw,  the  Raven,  croaked  sadly, 
'  Wabeno,  master,  I  starve.  Why  do  you  give 
away  the  magic  seeds  ? '  And  Wabeno,  smiling, 
said,  'Penaisee,  forget  not  my  comrade  Kaw-kaw; 
but  in  the  harvest  time  that  as  yet  you  know  not 
of,  let  him  also  share  my  gift  with  you.' 

"Then  Wagoose  walked  down  the  moonbeams 
and  unrolled  a  birch  bark  scroll,  and  on  it,  as 
Penaisee  gazed,  was  painted  the  picture  of  a 
field  of  corn,  with  Wabeno  walking  in  the  moon- 
light touching  the  filling  ears. 

"  Penaisee  remained  asleep,  and  on  the  seventh 
dawn  when  he  awoke  he  found  the  magic  kernels 
where  Wabeno  placed  them.  Then  feeling  fresh 
strength  within  him,  he  made  the  holes  a  stride 
apart  and  covered  the  kernels  well  with  earth ; 
then,  turning,  gave  morning  greeting  to  the  Sun, 
and  by  its  first  rays  he  saw  his  father  standing  by 
the  lodge  bearing  a  dish  of  food.  Neither  spoke, 
but  each  one  understood. 

"Every  moon  did  Penaisee  draw  the  earth 
around  the  stout  green  stalks,  and  as  he  toiled 
he  grew  in  stature  like  the  corn  stalks,  taller 
than  any  of  his  race.  When  the  moon  before 
the  Moon  of  Falling  Leaves  arrived,  he  sent  a 
message  to  the  tribe  to  come  and  gather  in  the 
ears  and  to  receive  Wabeno's  gift  of  bread.  On 


WABENO  IN  THE  MAIZE  FIELD 


WABENO'S   GIFT  343 

that  day  Wabeno  whispered,  'Let  the  boy  no 
longer  be  called  Penaisee,  a  little  bird,  but  Wen- 
digo,  the  giant.'  And  ever  after  that  moon  was 
called  by  all  the  tribe,  Mondamin,  or  the  Maize 
Moon." 

****** 

Anne  looked  across  the  fields.  The  wind  arose 
from  the  corn  stack  beside  her  and  followed  her 
thoughts  afar. 

"  I'm  so  happy  and  it's  all  so  beautiful,  the  fields 
and  the  sky  and  the  animals  and  father-mother 
and  Tommy  and  —  everything —  Oh,  how  I  wish 
Heart  of  Nature  would  give  me  the  magic  crystals, 
so  that  I  could  see  the  other  Heart  too !  " 

"  Be  content,  House  Child,"  said  the  familiar 
voice  close  to  her  heart,  "you  see  more  than  you 
may  yet  understand.  You  have  the  precious  crys- 
tals in  your  keeping;  for  it  is  only  by  looking 
through  the  eyes  of  Heart  of  Nature  and  Heart  of 
Man  that  on  this  earth  you  may  see  Heart  of  God !  " 

Tommy  ran  up  and   put   his   arm   around   his 
sister.     She   looked  at  him  and  then  across  the 
fields  with  a  new  light  in  her  eyes.     "I  under- 
stand, dear  Heart  of   Nature,"  she  whispered. 
****** 

"Anne,  please  Anne,  look  at  me  and  listen," 
begged  Tommy,  pulling  at  her  hand.  "Baldy  says 


344 


WABENO,    THE   MAGICIAN 


my  stwashes  are  hard  and  ripe,  and  the  big,  white 
rooster's  going  to  be  made  into  soup,  and  I've  dot 
all  his  fevvers,  and  I've  dot  twelve  black  beans  for 
eyes,  and  mother  says  I  can  sit  up  till  eight  o'clock 
and  make  those  lovely  stwash  deese  for  Miss  Jule, 
'cause  to-morrow  is  her  birfday,  and  she's  going  to 
have  a  party.  A  nice  little  party  wifout  any  best 
clothes,  just  for  you  and  me  and  Lily  and  Lumber- 
legs  and  Waddles  and  her  dogs  and  Fox !  You 
will  help  me,  won't  you,  Anne  ?  "  he  said,  peering 
anxiously  into  her  face,  "betause  it's  going  to  be 
vely  hard  to  make  their  tails  and  eyes  stick  on." 

"  Of  course  I  will,"  said  Anne,  laying  her  cheek 
on  his  curly  head. 

"  Why  don't  stwashes  grow  fevvers  ?  " 

"  Because  birds  are  the  only  feathered  things." 

"But  why?" 

"I  cannot  tell,"  said  Anne,  laughing.  "You 
must  ask  Wabeno,  the  Magician." 


• 


GLOSSARY 


Amoe.     The  Honey  Bee. 
Annemee'kee.     Thunder. 
Apuk'wa.     The  Bulrush. 
Askuta-squash.      The  Squash 
or  Gourd. 

Bek'wuk.    The  Arrow. 

Chi-kaug.  The  Skunk. 
Coon  Moon.  February. 
Corn  Moonx  August. 

Dahin'da.     The  Bullfrog. 
Deer  Moon.     October. 
Dibik'gezis.     The  Night  Suu, 
the  Moon. 

Ghee'zis.     The  Sun. 

Gitche    Manito.       The   Great 

Spirit,  God. 

Gitche-ah-mo.  The  Honey  Bee. 
Goose  Moon.     April. 

Hard  Moon.     January. 
Iskodah.     A  Comet. 


Kabibonok'ka.       The      North 


Wind. 

Kayoshk'.     The  Sea  Gull. 
Keeway'din.      Northwest 

Home  Wind. 


Ko'ko'ko'ho.      The    Great 
Horned  Owl. 

Little  Oo-oo.  The  Screech  Owl. 

Mai-mai.     The  Woodcock. 

Ma'ma.     The  Woodpecker. 

Midsummer  Moon.     July. 

Mon'da'min.  Maize,  Indian 
Corn. 

Mon'o'min.     Oats. 

Moon  of  Falling  Leaves.  Sep- 
tember. 

Moon  of  Leaves.     May. 

Moon  of  Snow  Blindness. 
March. 

Moon  of  Snow  Shoes.  De- 
cember. 


Nee '  ba-naw-baigs. 
Spirits. 


Water 


0-o-chug.     The  House  Fly. 
Ondaig.     The  Crow. 
Owais'sa.     The  Bluebird. 
Opin.     The  Potato. 

Pau-puk-kee-wis.     The  Storm 


Fool. 

Peboan.     Winter, 
or   Penai-see.     Little  Bird,  Hum- 
mingbird. 
345 


346 


GLOSSAKY 


Planting  Moon.     May. 
Puk-Wudj'ies.     Little  Vanish- 
ing People. 

Shaw-shaw.     The  Swallow. 
Shawonda'see.      The     South 

Wind. 
Sugge'ma.    The  Mosquito. 

Wabasso.    The  White  Kabbit, 
the  North. 


Wabeno.    The  Magician. 
Wabun-An'nung.     The  Morn- 
ing Star. 

Wabun.     The  East  Wind. 
Wa'wa.     The  Wild  Goose. 
Wa' goose.     The  Dream  Fox. 
Wawa-sa-mo.     Lightning. 
Waz'husk.     The  Muskrat. 
Weeng.     The  Spirit  of  Sleep. 
Wendigo.     A  Giant. 


TOMMY-ANNE 

AND 

THE   THREE   HEARTS, 

BY 

MABEL    OSGOOD  WRIGHT. 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  ALBERT  D.  BLASHFIELD. 


i2mo.    Cloth.    Colored  edges.    $1.50. 


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BIRDCRAFT. 


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By  MABEL  OSGOOD  WRIGHT, 

Author  of  "The  Friendship  of  Nature"  "Tommy-Anne,"  "Citizen  Bird,"  etc 

With  Eighty  full-page  plates  by  Louis  AGASSIZ  FUERTES. 
Small  Quarto.    Cloth.    $2.50. 

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CITIZEN   BIRD. 

SCENES  FROM  BIRD  LIFE  IN  PLAIN  ENGLISH  FOR 
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Author  of  "  Tom  my- Anne,"  etc. 


DR.  ELLIOTT  COUES, 

Author  of  "  Birds  of  North  America." 

With  over  One  Hundred  Illustrations  by 
Louis  AGASSIZ  FUERTES. 

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Four-Footed  Americans 

AND   THEIR   KIN 
By  MABEL  OSGOOD  WRIGHT 

Edited  by  FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN 


With  seventy-two  original  illustrations  by  ERNEST  SETON  THOMPSON 


Price    $1.50    net 

The  scene  of  the  book  shifts  from  farm  to  woods  and  back  to  an  old 
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chief  of  our  American  mammals. 


The  Friendship  of  Nature 

A    NEW   ENGLAND   CHRONICLE   OF    BIRDS   AND    FLOWERS 
By  MABEL  OSGOOD  WRIGHT 


18mo.     Cloth,  75  eta.     Large  Paper,  $3.00 


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keenest  delight,  and  describes  them  with  a  musical  flow  of  language  that 
carries  us  along  from  a  '  May  Day '  to  a  '  Winter  Mood '  in  a  thoroughly 
sustained  effort;  and  as  we  drift  with  the  current  of  her  fancy  and  her 
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Dispatch. 


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